Effect Before Cause

[Tsyal Maktoyu]

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2012-04/quantum-experiment-effect-happens-cause

I also wonder, what exactly the "chronological range" is for such actions? By what I mean is, how far apart can two moments in space time be (the present and the moment in the future in which the action is taken) for such an effect like this to be possible? Infinity? I wonder if other manifestations of this are occurring right now, what might be responsible (where in time might they be?), and how this is shaping the world around us?

Additionally, this represents some interesting, if not groundbreaking, findings about the quantum world and our relationship to it. To name a few:

For those who interpret the quantum world spiritually, this can be seen, in a way, as a bit of a validation of their beliefs. As the decision of whether to entangle or not is a conscious decision, this is an interesting show of how...well, consciousness reverberates with the universe.

Also, this presents an interesting take on the feasibility of wormholes. This experiment represents the entanglement of two points in time (again, present + moment action is taken), and according to Einstein, this also represents entanglement of two points in space. All that's left is configuring the space time into a way that matter can pass, and viola! Wormholes! Or alternatively, it might be a means to allow teleportation. If matter cannot be transported, then at least quantum states can be.

Plus, this seems almost like an inverse of our current usual relationship with the quantum world. Usually we large, relativistic creatures are the ones who determine quantum states, who collapse the wave functions. In this case it seems like the other way around. It's almost as if these particles, by being in a certain quantum state, collapsed the wave function of the operator of the machine!

Quantum physics never fails to amaze me.

[`Eylan Ayfalulukanä]

There was a young lady named Bright,
Whose speed was much faster than light,
She left one day,
In a relative way,
And returned the previous night!

I'll have to watch this story later this evening....

[Kekerusey]

If you want to go for effect before cause you should read some Asimov ("The Trouble With Thiotimoline")

Keke

[`Eylan Ayfalulukanä]

Spmething tells me that this thought-experiment is not valid, as it 'breaks' something that every other indication says cannot be broken.

Assume for the moment that both two-man teams (the entanglers and the measureres)  have the same reference frame for time.

At some given time, the entlaglers decide to entangle two particles.

If the measurers had checked the particles before they were entangled, they would find they were not entangled.

If the measurers had checked the particles after they were entangled, they would find they were entangled.

because they are on the same frame of reference for time, the two teams could contact each other, and validate the results of their measurements with respect to time.

If the teams were operating on different reference frames for time, the measueres could still make a measurement and discover the particles were or were not entangled. But since they have no idea about how time works for the entanglers, the measurement would do little more than tell the measurers if a given pair of particles was entangled or not.

After a determination was made that a pair of particles were indeed entangled, maybe the frames of reference each team were using could be related to each other. But as I interpret this, there is no true way to do any time travel here, or anything similar.

As it is, scientists are beginning to discover that quantum entanglement isn't everything it is cracked up to be.

[Clarke]

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2012-04/quantum-experiment-effect-happens-cause

I also wonder, what exactly the "chronological range" is for such actions? By what I mean is, how far apart can two moments in space time be (the present and the moment in the future in which the action is taken) for such an effect like this to be possible? Infinity? I wonder if other manifestations of this are occurring right now, what might be responsible (where in time might they be?), and how this is shaping the world around us?

Infinite, AFAIK. It's all to make sure the paperwork checks out.

For those who interpret the quantum world spiritually,

This is, incidentally, a very silly thing to do, mostly because ~100% of people get what QM actually does wrong. 

Plus, this seems almost like an inverse of our current usual relationship with the quantum world. Usually we large, relativistic creatures are the ones who determine quantum states, who collapse the wave functions. In this case it seems like the other way around. It's almost as if these particles, by being in a certain quantum state, collapsed the wave function of the operator of the machine!

It makes a lot more sense when you use an interpretation that doesn't actually involve collapse at all.