is what gives a Jedi his power.

It's an energy field created by all living things.

It surrounds us and penetrates us.

It binds the galaxy together.

So, that's a fairly deep quote, isn't it? Fairly deep quote.

And so, I got contacted by a journalist for The Guardian.

They were doing an article on The Force

and they wanted to know, from a physicist,

well, what were your thoughts on The Force?

The Force, of course, is taken

-- and George Lucas himself has admitted this --

that it was informed by, sort of,

concepts of Eastern mysticism

and tying together the world, the universe,

in terms of

almost like a spiritual force that binds us,

binds us all together.

But it also obeys your commands.

Now, I have a lot of problems,

when it comes to quantum mechanics, for example,

where quantum mechanics is abused

in terms of 'quantum woo'

and the idea that quantum mechanics

tells us

that everything is bound together, and that, um,

you know, Brady's electrons and my electrons

are all part of one holistic, integrated whole.

Kid, I've flown from one side of this galaxy to the other.

I've seen a lot of strange stuff;

but I've never seen anything

to make me believe there's one

all-powerful force controlling everything.

In this universe, that doesn't happen

for reasons I've discussed at length in other videos.

But let's think about what --

you know, what --

What could be the origin of The Force in Star Wars?

Is there a universe where it might be possible?

Let's say my starting point is existing physics,

and let's think about how we would

have to modify that existing physics

to, um, to have something like The Force in the universe around us.

What's remarkable in this universe

and with current existing physics

is that quantum mechanics,

at one level,

quantum physics *does* tell us

that Brady's and my electrons

are coupled together.

Binds the galaxy together.

It *does* tell us that my electrons

are coupled with the building over there;

are coupled with small, blue, furry creatures on Alpha Centauri;

are coupled with

the universe at whole.

Quantum mechanics does tell us that.

And in fact, we can't really think,

in some ways

-- in terms of the theoretical context --

we can't think of an individual electron;

we've got to think of them all coupled together.

Its energy surrounds us

and binds us.

That's called 'entanglement' and, that's,

and that sounds very much like The Force.

But why doesn't it work in this universe?

Well, the reason it doesn't work in [this] universe is

that coupling is so *incredibly* tiny;

incredibly tiny. You may as well say,

if I do this [exhales a puff of breath],

that I've affected the orbit of Mars.

That's sort of what it's like saying.

There is an effect,

but that effect is not only *tiny*;

it's utterly, completely,

totally, fundamentally

negligible. It doesn't affect anything

in the world around us.

[Brady, off camera:] You're almost making the case there, though.

You're saying, "For you and me, we can't do it; but maybe a Jedi,

[Brady continues] "who is more sensitive or can amplify these things"

But what would have to happen --

So, it's interesting because, um, there are people

like Deepak Chopra; there are people

in *this* universe, in this world

who claim that this coupling happens.

But the coupling doesn't happen.

Quantum mechanics, if --

[Brady, off camera:] But *you* just said the coupling happens.

No! The coupling happens *theoretically*

and you have to set the *theory* up

so that that, um, coupling is within the theory.

But there's a big difference between

a theory

and something that happens practically,

or something that's measurable.

As I say, the theory tells us there's

a coupling; but that coupling is at the level of --

It's just so far off the scale,

not only could we not measure it;

we couldn't even begin to hope to measure it

with *whatever* technology,

because it's *completely* overridden by any other effect.

It's, as I say, it's like me [exhales a puff of breath] doing that,

and expecting that

not only have I affected the orbit of Mars,

but I've affected the orbit of planets around

Alpha Centauri, or whatever.

So it's a very theoretical concept,

and the problem is --

[Brady:] But you never ____ theoretical; weak.

[Brady, off camera:] It does exist; you *did* affect Mars just then; just not very much.

Exactly! But, you know, so,

in terms of the context of, um,

what it means for our everyday lives --

Can we control it?

Does it make a difference?

So --

What would need to happen

to have something like The Force in this universe,

in terms of coupling us all together?

Well, that f[orce] -- somehow would have to amplify

that entanglement.

We'd have to somehow, you know, in terms of,

um,

me being able to connect with Brady

from my electrons, to entangle with Brady's,

so I could influence his thoughts, for example.

How would I influence his thoughts?

Well, I'd have to change the biochemistry?

And what's the biochemistry about?

It's about electrons?

So, somehow my electrons would have to couple --

they'd have to become strongly quantum mechanically entangled with Brady's electrons.

How would we do that?

I don't know.

[Brady, off camera:] But I thought you said our electrons *are* entangled already.

Our elec --

[Brady, off camera:] And we're close to each other.

But that, but that level of entanglement

is so absolutely minuscule.

[Brady:] Isn't entanglement like pregnant? You can't be weakly pregnant.

Absolutely you can be.

[Brady:] You're entangled, or you're not entangled.

No! No, no, no, no. There's a whole range of different entan --

So, electrons in the same atom

can have a strong degree of entanglement;

electrons in different objects

can have a very, very weak degree of entanglement;

electrons on either side of the universe --

that entanglement is so *incredibly* small --

the coupling is so incredibly small

that it's just --

I cannot begin to describe just how incr --

[stammers]

incredibly and totally

minuscule and negligible it is.

[Brady, off camera:] Well Professor, if there are degrees of entanglement --

[Brady:] What's the SI unit for entanglement?

So an, well, [stammers]

You'd have to think of -- the best way of thinking about it

is in terms of --

if you've got, ah --

No, it's a very very good question, Brady.

Best way of thinking about it is in terms of:

What are the energies?

Right? So, if you've got, ah,

a system at one particular energy --

you've got an object at one particular energy; you've got an object over here at another particular energy.

So, is the energy of this object

affected by this object, and vice-versa?

That's the best way of thinking about it.

So, if you bring two atoms together,

and what happens is that the electrons will start to interact --

they'll overlap -- and at some point, you no longer think of it as

individual atoms; they become a molecule.

Alright? So that's a fairly strongly,

in terms of the electrons, that's a fairly strongly entangled system.

But if you break that out,

you don't need to go very, very far at all

where this atom

just does not feel the influence of this atom at all.

And that's over the course of just a few atomic diameters. The bond breaks.

So, they're not entangled; they're not communicating with each other.

Move this to even a *fraction* of a millimeter,

and this atom really does not care

about the presence of this atom,

in terms of the energies of the electrons in this atom.

Move it to the other side of the universe,

and that, as I said, that effect is just

completely and utterly washed out

by us *breathing*, for one thing;

by the vibrations, the thermal vibrations

of the atoms in the table.

So the quantum mechanics that happens down here

at the atomic level

just doesn't scale up.

[Brady, off camera:] It's almost like you're saying,

[Brady:] Sure, it's there, but us -- but it's weak and us mortals would never see or measure it.

Absolutely. So therefore -- [Brady, off camera:] No, I'm saying,

[Brady:] It would take a special kind of person

[Brady:] to see it, or control or measure it;

[Brady:] and that special person is a Jedi.

Maybe. Maybe if -- But they have to,

they have to be able to control that entanglement,

and amplify that effect.

[Brady, off camera:] That's why they're so special. They -- [Professor:] Yeah, and it's a question of

how, I guess, with um --

I know this divides the community

and I don't want to have hordes of rampaging Star Wars fans chasing after me --

But maybe this midi-chlorian idea?

Maybe that somehow amplifies the entanglements?

It's an interesting idea. But,

the interesting thing here is that

within, as I say, within

quantum mechanics in this universe,

technically -- but I *really* want to stress that --

Technically, um,

you have to couple everything together --

you can't just assume: One electron here. You have to consider

*all* the electrons in the universe.

So, it's interesting. The Force is what gives the Jedi his power.

It's an energy field.

The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field.

Now, already a physicist goes,

"Hang on!" Because a force

and an energy

are *very* different things.

[Female voice:] Many Bothans died to bring us this information.

[Brady, off camera:] I think you're being a bit --

[Brady:] This is semantics, though, isn't it?

[Brady:] The reason I think this is semantics --

[Brady:] 'The Force' with a capital 'F' doesn't have to be a force [Professor:] True, true. That's true.

That's true. There is -- I am being, in terms of the pedantry, I guess,

it can just be thought of as,

as you say, The Force with a capital F

rather than a force.

But that distinction between force,

as a physicist sees it, and energy, is important.

But this is the good -- this is the really --

That's a bit of a pedantic one. That is a bit of a pedantic one.

But it's interesting --

It says, "It surrounds us and penetrates us."

Basically, that's what forces,

force fields, or fields, do in the universe.

In quantum field theory,

we think about the,

the field associated with an electron

or the field associated with a particle.

Which permeates all of space!

Or even the electron -- you're used to thinking

about the -- or hearing about the Higgs boson

and how that field permeates the universe;