In a study conducted by American and Austrian physicists, a ‘strange metal’ has been observed to contain billions, and billions of Quantum entangled Electrons flowing through it. The paper that appeared in the recent edition of Science examines the electronic and Magnetic behavior of a ‘strange metal’ compound of Ytterbium, Rhodium, and Silicon while it underwent critical transition at the boundary between two well-studied quantum phases.
The study at Rice University and Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien) provides a very compelling set of evidence in support of Quantum Entanglement’s role in bringing about quantum criticality. The commonly held belief that Quantum Entanglement has no observable effects on a macroscopic level is challenged by this study, which provides a chance to see the effects of entanglement, even in a metallic film that contains billions and billions od Quantum Mechanical objects.
The challenges involved in this experiment were really hard to overcome. The researchers had to develop a highly complex material synthesis technique to produce ultrapure films containing one part of ytterbium for every two parts, rhodium and silicon (YbRh2Si2). At absolute zero temperatures, the material undergoes a transition from one quantum phase that has a magnetic order to the one that does not.
This study might hold huge implications for the future of technology in fields such as computing and communication. Seeing as Entanglement is the basis of information storage in Quantum computing, this study could prove to be a real asset to this field as well. The electrical & magnetic properties of the material are of special interest to the researchers. Its properties are steadily uncovered, and studies peek into its inner workings, we will certainly see the results of this study not that far into the future.
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