[ExI] An at-home Quantum Entanglement Experiment

[John Clark]

On Mon, Aug 10, 2026 at 8:11 PM Jason Resch via extropy-chat <
extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:


*You might want to include this, it's a very simple and extremely cheap way
to demonstrate that electrons are spinning, or at least prove that they
have angular momentum. *


* Do Electrons Really Have "Intrinsic" Angular Momentum?
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQ5w4_0S2l4>*

*John K Clark*





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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