Ever wanted to teleport, walk through walls, or have your clones? Because in this article we will go over objects that possess such characteristics; objects that you encounter every single day, even right now. The article mainly focuses on the understanding of Quantum Physics whose scienfitic definition states that it is a study of extremly small objects called quantum objects - like protons, electrons, neutrons, quarks, bosons, etc. This means that for us to experience such properties, we need to be infinitesimally small in size like an atom. For now, let’s just assume I have a shrink ray that does the job for us.
The only thing now left for us to do, as my title states, is to play tennis. I shrink you and your tennis gear to the desired size but then comes the first problem. You can’t play tennis in this environment because random particles with opposite forces appear out of nothing and negate each other - particles negating the antiparticles. This phenomenon is known as quantum fluctuations; it is stated as a temporary change in the universe's energy. To better understand quantum fluctuations, let’s focus on what causes them; one cause affecting the intensity of the fluctuations is location, specifically matter concentration. Fluctuations occur in places with lower matter levels than those filled with matter; for example, your room will have lower fluctuations rates because your room is filled with matter - including air - whereas a void in space has higher fluctuations because it's relatively matterless. This phenomenon happens because of a theory discovered by Werner Heisenberg, called Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle. This principle states that there is a fundamental limit to one’s ability to know something about a quantum system; meaning, the more precisely you know the position (x) of one particle, then the less precisely you know the particle’s momentum (y) and vice versa. You can apply this same principle to understand why fluctuations are higher in areas with lower matter and lower in areas with higher matter. In a void, for example, the gravitational field strength (x) with reference to its electromagnetic field (y) is approximately zero, disrupting the Uncertainty principle that causes higher fluctuations to maintain balance. This analogy also helps us understand a theory of the dying universe called Vacuum Decay - a theory stating the time when the universe uses up all its resources, including evaporated black holes, creating a perfect entropy. In this perfect entropy, both particles (x) and momentum (y) or any other factors are near zero, causing disturbances in the system, leading to stronger and intense fluctuations, essentially the next big bang.
Now that we understand what quantum fluctuations are, to avoid that, the simple answer would be to move to a location with higher matter concentration, giving us a considerable peaceful game. So the tennis game starts, and you face an extremely competitive opponent - you both want to win all the points. During the play, you get a situation when your opponent is in front of you (down the line), so you decide to hit the ball cross-court but are unsure on whether to hit the ball with spin or speed. So, you close your eyes and hit the ball cross-court. While your eyes were closed, the ball will go cross-court but be both spinning and speeding in a superposed manner; this phenomenon is called Quantum Superposition, which expands on the uncertainty principle. The Uncertainty principle restricts us to know either the x or y variable of a quantum object (not both at the same time); here, on closing our eyes, the ball gets into a probabilistic state of being spun and going fast because we are very certain that the ball will go cross-court. This probabilistic state causes the ball to be superposed, causing it to attain (x) and (y) properties both at the same time. Opening your eyes will give out both the (x) & (y) variables of the ball, disturbing the uncertainty principle; to maintain superposition, you would focus on either (x) or (y), not both because if you focus on cross-court or down the line (x) the ball will be superposed for (y) spin or speed, and vice versa. This might not be true for your opponent because he is already making a measurement or knowns (x) & (y) characteristics of an object, disturbing the superposition for your opponent. The general definition states that quantum superposition is the ability of a quantum object to act either like a wave or a particle depending on whether the measurement is taken; waves demonstrate the probability function, with the possibilities of being in several places at a time, which is similar to our object’s probabilistic state. To win the point, a possibility is to be 100% sure about your (x), then closing your eyes will put the ball in superposition to go (y) down and cross simultaneously. But because your opponent is taking a measurement, he knows what path the ball has chosen right when it left your racquet. To counter this, we have to blink exactly when our opponent does, to put us both in superposition. This will cause the ball to go in both directions, and once you complete the blink, the ball might suddenly change its location because of its equal probability to go in both directions, causing you to win the point. The main takeaway from this analogy is that a quantum object has the tendency to be superposed or show both (x) & (y) properties in a probabilistic manner on whether the measurement is being taken.
It’s not over yet, there is only a 50-50 chance that the ball might change direction at the time of superposition and also depends on you blinking at the same time as your opponent, but now let’s assume your opponent is both mentally and physically better than Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal combined. This means that you need to win every point to draw the match because your opponent will all the other points which are not superposed. To counter this argument. We will focus on another theory called Quantum Entanglement, which might just enable us to win every point against our opponent. The definition states Quantum Entanglement is a physical phenomenon that occurs when a pair of particles share spatial proximity in a way such that the quantum state of each particle of the pair cannot be described independently, irrespective of their separation distance. Simplifying, quantum entanglement is a physical phenomenon that occurs when two quantum objects when interact in such a way that entangles them, letting us perfectly guess the object’s properties (x) or (y) every single time. For example, an entangled set of coins will always have the other coin's opposite property; coin 1 flipped heads, letting us know that coin-2 will be tails, regardless of the distance between these coins. This theory is often referred to as "the spooky action at a distance" because it violates Einstein’s theory of relativity that states nothing travels faster than light, whereas entangled objects separated billions of light-years away still maintain this connection and share information faster than light, upsetting Einstein. Coming back to our big question, how can you beat your opponent? The answer, is you entangle your opponent’s brain and the ball, so whenever the opponent thinks the ball will go cross-court because it is entangled, it will go down the line. You are going to win every single point despite the opponent’s skills because even the simplest thought in your opponent's head will change the entangled ball's properties, making it near impossible for your opponent to win.
In conclusion, the biggest takeaway from this article is that don't blink while in a quantum state. Just Don't.