Scientists at Delft University of Technology say they have conducted an experiment that proves one of the most fundamental claims of quantum theory — that objects separated by great distance can instantaneously affect each other’s behaviour.

The landmark study, published in scientific journal Nature, ‘is another blow to one of the bedrock principles of standard physics known as “locality,” which states that an object is directly influenced only by its immediate surroundings,’ the New York Times reported.

Einstein found it hard to accept the uncertainty introduced by quantum theory and described the implications as being like God playing dice.

Physicists have been carrying out tests since the late 1970s to try to establish if particles which had been separated could still influence each other. The Delft experiment involved two electrons separated by a distance of 1.3 kilometers.

‘These tests…. were always in the way that additional assumptions were needed,’ researcher Ronald Hanson told the paper. ‘Now we have confirmed that there is spooky action at distance.’

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