Just how entangled are entangled particles?

[dylanwebb]

From what I have read, once two particles interact and become entangled, any interaction will end this entanglement. So then, what exactly is this entanglement?

 

For instance, two protons become entangled, would the force of a magnetic field altering the position of one have the same effect on the other, even though it is no where near the field?

 

Or, if measuring the state of one of our protons ends the entanglement, and so does any interaction, what does this entanglement really matter? That is to say, if I can't measure it, and if interacting with it in any way ends it, who cares and how is it being proposed for quantum computing?

 

As you can tell I obviously dropped physics after first year of university so laymans terms would be appreciated!

[Syntho-sis]

Well you see it's a bit more complicated than that. I would definitely recommend the book entitled 'Entanglement.' I can't remember the name of the author, but I know he is a renowned Jewish author and it shouldn't be too hard to locate.

 

He addresses this topic directly in his book.

[swansont]

Entanglement is broken when you have an interaction/measurement that forces the entangled attribute into an eigenstate. e.g. if the spin is entangled, then an interaction that would reveal the spin orientation will end the entanglement.