From: Damien Broderick (damien@ariel.ucs.unimelb.edu.au)
Date: Fri Oct 23 1998 - 11:05:08 MDT
At 12:33 AM 10/23/98 EDT, Curt wrote in response to my:
>> entanglement allows information to pass from one spacetime location to the
>> other *instantaneously*, faster than light. (Of course, you need to have
>> the prepared black box states already waiting, in advance, at either end
>No, it doesn't. Quantum entanglement can pass data, but it cannot pass
>information. Essentially you can only transfer uncrackably coded data
>that requires a key that must be sent relativistically.
Sorry, that was bundled in as part of the black box protocol. I assume (as
previous discussions here have elaborated) that one-use pads/keys are sent
along with the starship. But I still thought that the *return* encoded
message would be instantaneous or spacelike. (I've been privileged to read
part of a wonderful novel-in-progress by Charlie Stross that makes much
play of this neat device.) Presumably, as Hal argues, that doesn't apply
to the photon stream experiment mentioned in the CNN news report.
Damien Broderick
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