The lodestone resonator is a fictional device in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series that allows communication between different universes. It is used by Gallivespians in their war against the Authority and works through quantum entanglement, although it is not scientifically feasible in our world.
A lodestone resonator is one of several fictional devices appearing in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series of fantasy novels. The object allows two people to communicate on great differences, even between the various universes that make up the world of books.
The magnet resonator is introduced as an item used by Gallivespians who are fighting against the Authority in the war against Heaven. It is not entirely clear whether lodestone resonators exist exclusively in the universe from which the small race of Gallivespians hail, or if they can be found in many different universes. The Gallivespians appear to have at least invented their own lodestone resonators, although it is unknown whether they invented them with the intention of communicating across universes or simply for long-distance communication within their universe.
A magnet resonator is a simple device consisting of a small rod of magnet mounted on a piece of wood or some other base. It is then played like a violin, moving a bow back and forth across it to generate sound that travels instantaneously over any distance. These sounds are used in a similar way to Morse code, allowing messages to be transmitted without delay.
Magnetite is another name for Fe3O4, magnetite. It is particularly used for highly magnetized lodestone shapes, which were used in early compasses as needles, pointing to the north and south magnetic poles. More generally, the term magnet is often used for anything that is seen to have great attraction. So the term lode resonator refers to both the literal presence of lodestone and its ability to find its “mate” at any distance.
The apparent science behind the function of the lodestone resonator in His Dark Materials has to do with what is known as quantum entanglement. According to the myth of the books, the two pieces of magnet to be used have each of their particles entangled at a quantum level, so that when something happens to one, it immediately happens to the second.
While quantum entanglement is indeed accepted as a valid real-world theory, sometimes called “spectral communication over a distance,” it is important to note that entanglement occurs exclusively at the quantum level. Entanglement refers to the fact that if, for example, one entangled particle has an upward spin, the other will be observed to have a downward spin. This type of quantum information, however, does not translate into classical information. Due to the limitations of relativity, classical information cannot travel faster than the speed of light. The no-communication theorem deals with this, asserting that no real information is transmitted.
While the science in our world seems relatively sure that something like the lodestone resonator wouldn’t work, it’s still an excellent addition to Pullman’s world. Since the characters travel between a multitude of different universes, traditional radio communication would be impossible. The magnet resonator allows characters to stay in contact with each other, even between universes.
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