Scientists image Bell entanglement for the first time

Scientists have imaged a phenomenon officially known as Bell entanglement for the first time. Scientists John Bell formalized this phenomenon, but it was described by Albert Einstein first. Einstein described the quantum mechanics in the phenomenon as "spooky action at a distance" because of the instantaneousness of the remote interaction between a pair of entangled particles.

Two entangled particles interact and share their physical states, no matter how great the distance between the two particles is. Bell entanglement is an underpinning of quantum mechanics. The image the team has obtained shows a strong form of quantum entanglement and is described by scientist Paul-Antonie Moreau as "an elegant demonstration of a fundamental property of nature.

Moreau also said that the image was an exciting result that could be used to advance the field of quantum computing. The techniques used for the photo could also lead to new types of imaging. While Einstein is part of the story of quantum entanglement, the concept was formalized by John Bell when he described in detail a strong form of entanglement exhibiting the feature.

Bell entanglement is key to practical applications like quantum computing and cryptography. The image is seen here is the first time bell entanglement has been captured in a single image. The image was taken by a team of physicists from the University of Glasgow using a system that fires a stream of entangled photons from a quantum source of light at "non-conventional" objects.

The result was displayed on liquid-crystal materials that change the phase of the photons as they pass through. This phenomenon seemed incompatible with Einstein's special theory of relativity when first described.