Mermin's device

In physics, Mermin's device[1][2] or Mermin's machine[3] is a thought experiment intended to illustrate the non-classical features of nature without making a direct reference to quantum mechanics. The challenge is to reproduce the results of the thought experiment in terms of classical physics. The input of the experiment are particles, starting from a common origin, that reach detectors of a device that are independent from each other, the output are the lights of the device that turn on following a specific set of statistics depending on the configuration of the device.

The results of the thought experiment are constructed in such a way to reproduce the result of a Bell test using quantum entangled particles, which demonstrate how quantum mechanics cannot be explained using a local hidden variable theory. In this way Mermin's device is a pedagogical tool to introduce the unconventional features of quantum mechanics to a larger public.

  1. ^ Ross, Robert (June 2020). "Computer simulation of Mermin's quantum device". American Journal of Physics. 88 (6): 483–489. Bibcode:2020AmJPh..88..483R. doi:10.1119/10.0000833. ISSN 0002-9505. S2CID 219514634.
  2. ^ Stuckey, W. M.; Silberstein, Michael; McDevitt, Timothy; Le, T. D. (2020-09-25). "Answering Mermin's challenge with conservation per no preferred reference frame". Scientific Reports. 10 (1): 15771. Bibcode:2020NatSR..1015771S. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-72817-7. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 7519099. PMID 32978499.
  3. ^ Mullin, William J. (2017). Quantum weirdness. Oxford, United Kingdom. ISBN 978-0-19-251434-9. OCLC 975487260.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)