The scientists’ work have collectively addressed core enigmas in the fundamental nature of reality. Could it be, as Einstein proposed, that all objects possess fundamental properties that can be discerned through precise observation? In independent work, each of the three researchers forged new experiments investigating quantum entanglement, the phenomenon in which two or more particles exist in an entangled state, whereby any action taken on one of the particles can instantaneously ripple through the entire entangled assemblage, to the extent where if an observer determined the state of one particle, its entangled counterparts would instantly reflect such state, whether they are in the same room as the observer or in a galaxy on the opposite side of the universe. 

In 1964, a physicist from Northern Ireland, John Bell, made an important breakthrough where he devised a theoretical test to show the “hidden variables”–forces or laws that we couldn’t see–which Einstein ignored and was convinced didn’t exist. 

Imagine a light bulb that emits two photons (light particles) that travel in opposite directions away from it. If these photons are entangled, then they can share a property, such as their polarisation, no matter their distance. Bell imagined doing experiments on these two photons separately and comparing the results of them to prove that they were entangled (truly and mysteriously linked).