[ExI] An at-home Quantum Entanglement Experiment

[Jason Resch]

With substantial help from AI, I've put together an open source project (
https://github.com/jasonkresch/quantum-entanglement/ ) that allows anyone
to perform an at-home demonstration of quantum entanglement. For about $500
in parts, one can demonstrate not only quantum entanglement, but also a
number of Nobel-prize worthy results, including:


   - Rutherford's 1908 Nobel Prize for discovering the *radioactive
   transformation* of elements (this experiment involves the transition of
   Sodium to Neon).
   - Arthur Compton's 1927 Nobel Prize (as this experiment involves *Compton
   scattering* gamma rays off of aluminum blocks).
   - Einstein's 1921 prize for discovering the *photoelectric effect* and
   proving photons exist (since the Geiger-Müller tube only detects
   high-energy photons capable of dislodging an electron from the tube wall).
   - Dirac's prediction of, and Carl Anderson's experimental discovery
of *antimatter
   and positrons*, both earning Nobel prizes, in 1932 and in 1933. (as this
   experiment uses positrons, and antimatter annihilation to produce an
   entangled photon pair, it also demonstrates *E=mc^2*, as the gamma ray
   energies are each at the rest-mass of the electron and positron (511 keV)).
   - Victor Hess's 1936 Nobel prize for his discovery of *cosmic rays* (the
   detectors can be stacked vertically to detect muons generated in the upper
   atmosphere by cosmic ray collisions.
   - The *Coincidence Method* pioneered by Walther Bothe in 1925, earning
   him the Nobel prize in 1954 (this experiment uses simultaneous detections
   to determine when Geiger detections result from the same de-cay event,
   which is also the basis of PET scans in hospitals).
   - *Quantum Entanglement* as was the basis for the 2022 Nobel Prize
   awarded to Aspect, Clauser, and Zeilinger, as this experiment uses Compton
   Polarimetry to show the photon pair is not just simultaneous, but that they
   demonstrate correlations in their scattering behavior.

I think it could serve as the basis for any number of great science
experiments. The main costs are the Geiger counter kits (two at $115 each),
the Na-22 source ($60), and the Arduino ($20), so if one already has all
the stuff for soldering/wiring it can be done for much less than $500.

It's hard to imagine a cheaper, simpler way of demonstrating so much of
20th century science.

Jason
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