Where do we find Entanglement in Nature

(I) Still existing as one of the biggest mysteries is that of quantum entanglement. Even the greatest minds of the century, like Albert Einstein also had to struggle to understand such a phenomenon and was compelled to say it as “spooky phenomenon at some distance”.

Let’s look at an example to understand the entanglement principle. Suppose there are two people namely A and B. Each of them has an envelope containing either a green piece of paper or a red piece of paper. Therefore, one envelop contains a green piece of paper within and another contains a red piece of paper within, however, it is not known that which envelope has been given to whom. Now A and B, supposedly, travel to diametrically opposite ends of the universe and then A open up the envelope to find, say, a red piece of paper. This will make sure that B, present on the diametrically opposite end of the universe, has a green piece of paper in the envelope. So, as soon as the state of one object (a piece of paper) becomes known, instantaneously, the other object (a piece of paper) becomes known. The two objects are entangled with each other and pass on information from one to another about the de-coherence at a speed which has to be greater than the speed of light. This kind of paradox is also known as EPR paradox or Einstein Podolsky Rosen paradox.

Quantum entanglement has many practical uses, and if the hurdles are solved it could revolutionize the technology. Some places where it finds its use is in (1) Ultra-precise clocks, useful for GPS usages and other communication systems (2) Super-powerful quantum computers (3) Improved microscopes

(II) Another example of entanglement is that amongst polymers in the complex fluids. There’s an entire theory that has been developed to explain the viscosity of polymer melts, named as “Reptation Theory”. According to this theory, a polymer molecule is entangled in the mesh of other polymer chains. Each molecule is supposed to be confined within a dynamic tube created by its neighbours so that it must diffuse along its axis. This process by which the polymer molecules moves through its tube formed by entanglement is called reputation. Reptation (from Latin reptare: “to crawl”) is a snake-like diffusion motion driven by thermal energy. Reptation theory predicts the viscosity η = N³, while the experimental results are η = N^3.4 , which is not that bad.

(III) Avian Navigation: Some studies suggest that migrating birds may exploit quantum effects in their visual systems to boost sensitivity to Earth’s magnetic field. Though theoretical work doesn’t show a benefit to entangling the electrons of cryptochrome (a molecule thought to be important in navigation), researchers plan to test the idea in other molecules

(IV) DNA’s double helix: Entanglement may help hold the genetic building blocks of life together. In DNA, two complementary nucleotides meet up to form a base pair, creating the core of the double helix structure. After constructing a simplified model of the pairing, researchers have concluded that entangling the electron clouds of two nucleotides would give DNA more stability.