Aspect A. Quantum mechanics: To be or not to be local // Nature. V. 446. P. 866–867
The experimental violation of mathematical relations known as Bell’s inequalities sounded the death-knell of Einstein’s idea of ’local realism’ in quantum mechanics. But which concept, locality or realism, is the problem?
The development of quantum mechanics early in the twentieth century obliged physicists to change radically the concepts they used to describe the world. The main ingredient of the first quantum revolution, wave—particle duality, has led to inventions such as the transistor and the laser that are at the root of the information society. Thanks to ideas developed by Albert Einstein and John S. Bell, another essential quantum ingredient, entanglement, is now leading us through the conceptual beginnings of a second quantum revolution — this time based on quantum information.