“Einstein’s Quantum Riddle” Featuring Robbert Dijkgraaf Airs on PBS

Scientists are working to decipher and harness the power of quantum mechanics, but the strange nature of entanglement and other quantum phenomena continues to confound researchers, posing new and mystifying questions.

On Wednesday, January 9, 2019, PBS aired “Einstein’s Quantum Riddle,” featuring Institute Director and Leon Levy Professor Robbert Dijkgraaf, whose perceptive commentary provides audiences with a deeper understanding of nature’s quantum language.

Physicists have gradually become convinced that counterintuitive quantum behavior—such as two subatomic particles mirroring changes in each other instantaneously over any distance—is real. Einstein called it “spooky action at a distance,” but today quantum entanglement is poised to revolutionize technology from computers to cryptography.

From an experiment studying quasars at opposite ends of the universe to probing the interactions of elementary particles, researchers are gathering insights that could shatter the laws of space and time and provide a radical new understanding of the universe.

This documentary presents cutting-edge work and considers various implications of the coming quantum revolution that begins with making sense of the seemingly absurd.

Watch the full episode at PBS.org