The search for gravitational waves has a new recruit. These ripples in space-time, which are thought to emanate from violent events such as the collision of black holes and the first moments of the universe's existence, could be picked up using the spooky phenomenon of quantum entanglement. Machines based on the principle might even outperform the enormous gravitational wave detectors now operating in the US. When two quantum particles interact they sometimes retain a link between their quantum states. Anything that later changes the state of one of the entangled pair will instantly affect the state of the other - even if they are separated by a huge distance.
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