Einstein spent the last 30 years of his life trying to perfect a Unified Field Theory. I myself found it extremely difficult to research the material for this article in a timely manner. The subject of time or space-time can be a riddle. As a former engineer I find it a fascinating subject. Faster than light (FTL) or "Superluminal Communication" as it is otherwise called, can be achieved by using Quantum Entanglement. There has been enough research by respected scientists to say that the effect of Quantum Entanglement is instantaneous across all distances. The instantaneous effect happens even across vast stretches of the universe. The above assertion is in agreement with one of the time worn principles of science, Occam's Razor. The theoretical rule that states explanations should be the simplest, with as few assumptions as possible.
Faster than Light communication is needed because transit times for signals can become increasing long and communication is degraded over very large distances. A radio signal transmission to Mars can take 13 minutes (depending on the position of Mars in relation to earth). One can say hello to a Mars astronaut and will not receive an answer for 26 minutes (signal time to Mars and back). Quantum Entanglement can be described as an event happening in one location can arbitrarily effect an event in another location. This phenomenon has been called "spooky action at a distance". Quantum entanglement has been observed and studied in relation to subatomic particles such as a photon. The spin (or angular momentum and orientation in its location) of the particle is described as either spin up or spin down. After measuring the spin of a particle the particle maintains its spin. If two entangled particles are measured in the same direction (no matter how far they are apart) their spins must be opposite. Either spin up or spin down. This effect maintains the angular momentum of the universe. It is not difficult to entangle subatomic particles. Entanglement can be achieved by having the particles in proximity to each other for a short time, for example splitting a beam of particles by an external force. This can create two beams of entangled particles such as photons.
I will attempt to explain the workings of a device to communicate using Quantum Entanglement. The concept of the device is to entangle a photon by having it interact with an electron of a material and take on the property of either spin up or spin down. The entangled photon beam will then be spit and sent to a transmitter and receiver. The transmitter and receiver will contain the circulating photons in a waveguide. The transmitter and receiver can then be moved apart for communication purposes. The transmitter will use a magnetic field to change the polarization of the contained photons by "Faraday Rotation". A Faraday Rotation happens when light passes through a magnetic field in a material. The plane of polarization of the light or photon is rotated. This changing of the polarization will be reflected in the entangled receiver beam. By pulsing the magnetic field off and on a stream of 1's and 0's can be transmitted for communication purposes. A detector in the receiver will interpret the 1's and o's.
Granted this device is just the beginning, there a many arrangements to use Quantum Entanglement for communication purposes. I hope this article helps to initiate other ideas in this exciting field.
