In a previous article by Resonance Science Physical Chemist Dr. Ines Urdaneta an experiment that possibly demonstrates non-trivial quantum mechanical properties in microtubules was discussed. In the experiment, laser light shone on microtubules was absorbed, and had a delayed re-emission on physiologically relevant timescales [1]. The laser light was being absorbed by atoms and molecules within the microtubules and altering their properties before being re-emitted. This is a quantum mechanical process, and hints at potential quantum information processing in the biological system. In a seeming demonstration of how this process can be used in the transfer of information, a team at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have utilized a similar process to stream video with a quantum receiver [2].
The team had already used their quantum receiver to stream music with AM / FM reception [3], but now they have stepped it up a notch for TV and video game streaming. To achieve this the researchers used rubidium atoms contained in a glass box and, like the microtubule experiment, shone laser light of specific frequencies into the glass box where it was absorbed by the rubidium atoms exciting them and causing them to grow into super-sized atoms (what are called Rydberg atoms).
Figure 1: Schematic of the quantum receiver.
Radio frequency (RF) emission carrying video data was then transmitted through the Rydberg atom receiver, changing the motion and energy of the atoms’ outermost electrons (the valence electron orbitals) and altering how much laser light would subsequently be absorbed by the atoms. The team now had a quantum sensor—it is interesting to speculate that a similar process might be involved in the coherent electromagnetic absorption and emission processes of microtubules in the biological system.
Modulation of the laser beam upon excitation of the quantum sensor with the RF signal could then be read with a photodetector and fed directly to a CRT TV to stream the video contained in the AM radiowave, using the Rydberg atoms as the receiver.
Figure 2: Tuning the wavelength of the laser beam to be at the exact right resonant frequency as the Rydberg atom sensor results in high fidelity data transmission (going from left to right video quality increases with increasing laser frequency).
The technique has potentially significant technological applications as conventional receivers have to be physically modified to pick up different signals—such as audio, video, or microwave. This is not the case with the quantum sensor, all that must be done is recalibrating the lasers, to adjust the size of the Rydberg atoms and getting them at just the right resonant state for the frequency of interest.
Although this work was performed completely independently of the research on long-lived quantum states of microtubules performed by Jack Tuszynski, it demonstrates the significance of such quantum phenomena involving light absorption and re-emission in the living system, as just such a quantum mechanical process was used to receive and transmit entire videos by the team from NIST.
References
[1] Ines Urdaneta, Quantum Origin of Human Consciousness gets Preliminary Experimental Support! Published May 4th, 2022, The Resonance Science Foundation, https://www.resonancescience.org/blog/quantum-origin-in-human-consciousness-gets-preliminary-experimental-support. Accessed online 05/20/2022
[2] N. Prajapati, A. Rotunno, S. Berweger, M. Simons, A. Artusio-Glimpse, and C. L. Holloway, “TV and Video Game Streaming with a Quantum Receiver: A Study on a Rydberg atom-based receivers bandwidth and reception clarity.” arXiv, May 11, 2022. Accessed: May 20, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://arxiv.org/abs/2205.02716
[3] C. L. Holloway, M. Simons, A. H. Haddab, J. A. Gordon, D. A. Anderson, G. Raithel, and S. Voran, “A multiple-band rydberg atom-based receiver: Am/fm stereo reception,” IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine 63, 63–76 (2021).
