Action at a distance
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Action at a distance consists of affecting a distant body instantaneously. At the atomic level, this is known as "non-locality".
Examples of action at a distance in physics are:
- Newtonian gravity
- Electrostatics (before Maxwell's equations in the 1800s)
- Quantum entanglement within quantum mechanics (called "non-locality")
Some scientists have long resisted the possibility of action at at distance (non-locality), and the theory of relativity assumes that information traveling instantaneously, or faster than the speed of light, is impossible.
Several theories have been developed as ways of denying action at a distance (non-locality). These include:
- theories positing the existence of gravitons
- string theory
- quantum field theory
