Because some basics of physics (understood as a science) have been learned by each of us at school and, above all, have been adopted as constants, as givens, as reality, this average «everyone» would easily consider «conspiracy theory» (or «lack of scientific education»…) the position that this physics which has taught us a certain view of the world is to a considerable extent (inevitably) ideological. In any case, this (however tenuous…) entrenched «conception of the material and energetic world» is not necessarily the world itself…
Quantum physics—still not part of “school knowledge” and therefore excluded from the formation of our everyday worldview—is a good example. Its basic postulates and fundamental axioms transcend (and in some cases shatter) the “Accepted Model” in which we have been trained for understanding material (and energetic) reality. If quantum physics, with its innovative (for common social knowledge) and “strange” concepts, were merely a philosophical theory, this widespread social ignorance would be a minor evil. Yet what if it turns out to be a key field in which capitalist “development” (and intra-capitalist competition) is beginning to unfold? Shouldn’t we then master at least the basic concepts and practical applications of quantum physics so that we can grasp the political economy of modern capitalist valorization—instead of clinging forever to a “political economy of the internal-combustion engine,” assuming it can explain everything for all time?
So, two such fundamental concepts. Superposition. And entanglement. Quantum superposition is a fundamental phenomenon according to which two or more “quantum states” can coexist. Which means: the idea that either something exists or its opposite does not apply to superposition. What applies is “the thing and its opposite exist together and simultaneously,” with specific probabilities for the “proportion” of their coexistence.
This, let us say offhand, «is and is not» of quantum physics, even as a theory, strikes at the very heart of both the (bourgeois) conception of reality that has prevailed for centuries, and what are taken to be the rational certainties of everyday life! The world (the world as we understand it) is structured upon and around fundamental dualisms… From this standpoint, what does «Schrödinger’s cat», which «is both alive and dead», signify if not the collapse of whatever binary basic certainties?
What concerns us here, however, is right next door. The entire electronic universe (however each person understands it) is built upon an electrical dualism, the on/off dualism, whose mathematical expression is 1/0. Here quantum mechanics brings a true revolution: the “states” are not either 1 or 0 but also every value in between; which means that “information” (that “magical” concept…) can circulate on multiple/complex levels between 1 and 0. Practically, this implies a huge multiplication of the volume of “information” that can be transmitted, if its encoding is not 1/0 but also every intermediate “value.” Such is the great and catalytic gift of quantum superposition if it is technologically harnessed…
Quantum entanglement is even more mysterious and alien to the “Standard Model” understanding of the world. According to the Greek version of Wikipedia (emphasis ours):
Quantum entanglement (also called quantum embrace) is the phenomenon in which two particles or groups of particles, created together or interacting by merging their wavefunctions, remain entangled with each other regardless of the distance now separating them. If one of the two is sent to the other end of the universe and something happens to either one, the other reacts instantaneously. Thus, it appears either that information can travel at infinite speed, or that in reality the two objects are still «in contact», connected to each other, in a state of entanglement.
Quantum entanglement is a real phenomenon and is observed in experiments, not only on microscopic scales, but also on larger ones.
The consequences and implications of quantum entanglement for the interpretation (more accurately: for the reconstruction of the understanding) of the world go very far! And it is likely that those who pass through whatever “educational system” exists in, say, the decade of 2050 will consider everything (or most of what) we still take for granted as primitive!
Meanwhile, let us turn to more practical aspects of the present reality.
In early March of last year (while the hygienist terror campaign was just beginning in the West…), the online edition of the well-known magazine Wired published the beginning of an article titled explanations of what quantum computing and quantum supremacy are:
Quantum computing can change the world. It will transform medicine, break encryption, and revolutionize communications and artificial intelligence. Companies like IBM, Microsoft, and Google are competing with each other to build reliable quantum computers. China has invested billions.
Recently, Google announced that it achieved quantum supremacy – the first time a quantum computer outperformed a traditional…
And below:
Quantum computers will not simply make things faster or more efficient. They will allow us to do things we have never even dreamed of. Things that not even the best supercomputer can do.
They have the ability to rapidly accelerate the development of artificial intelligence. Google is already trying to improve the software of self-driving vehicles. They are also crucial in modeling chemical reactions.
Until now, supercomputers can only analyze the most basic molecules. But quantum computers operate using the same quantum properties as the molecules they are trying to simulate. And they will have no problem handling the most complex reactions.
This could mean more efficient products – from new materials for electric car batteries to better and cheaper drugs, or highly advanced photovoltaics… Quantum computers will be used anywhere there is a large, uncertain system that needs simulation. This can be anything, from predicting financial markets to improving weather forecasts, modeling the behavior of a crowd of people or the behavior of individual electrons…
Encryption will be yet another central application…
That past March, in Wired: IBM, Microsoft, Google—select members of the Western bio-info-security complex—were leading the leap into the technological/capitalist future… Tidings of great joy!
And here’s a piece of yesterday’s news:
… China achieved “quantum supremacy” by building the computer at Jiuzhang, which last month surpassed Google’s Sycamore, with the ability to perform calculations 100 trillion times faster than the fastest classical supercomputer.
This development sent shockwaves around the world. But before these news could be examined by rival players in the quantum race, Beijing also announced that it had created the first internet fully integrated into quantum mechanics. Earlier this month, a network of satellites and fiber optics between Shanghai and Beijing managed to “teleport” huge volumes of data.
The world is now witnessing the birth of a Chinese quantum internet that will revolutionize society by enabling unbreakable data transfers and leveraging the machine learning (artificial intelligence) of the “Internet of Things”, potentially leading to instantaneous communications as it develops further.
… Chinese scientists quantum-teleported information 1,400 kilometers away to two satellites and then back to Earth via two ground stations – the first step toward creating a global-scale quantum internet. Together with the Jiuzhang computer, these developments place China at the forefront of the race to win the “quantum era” – a development that will unsettle Washington and Silicon Valley…
Western anxiety is understandable, whether acknowledged or not: the first use of the quantum internet will be military… Put differently: having an edge in the communicational (and not only) applications of quantum superposition and quantum entanglement is like having a thousand-fold advantage in nuclear technology and its weaponization. You get the idea…
Woe to the ignorants…