In 1994, Professor Dr. Günter Nimtz and his colleague, Horst Aichmann, conducted groundbreaking experiments at Hewlett-Packard that involved transmitting information faster than light. They successfully transported a signal over a very short distance at a speed 4.7 times that of light, thanks to a phenomenon called quantum tunneling. This remarkable result has ignited heated discussions among scientists, yet it remains reproducible.
FASTER-THAN-LIGHT?
As improbable as it sounds, I was present in 1999 when Professor Dr. Nimtz transmitted an AM-modulated microwave signal of Mozart’s 40th symphony through a Bose double prism at 4.7 times the speed of light.
Nimtz’s quantum tunneling experiment, 1999
As the webmaster of a Sci-Fi-themed news website called the “Museum of the Future,” I was constantly on the lookout for intriguing topics. One day, I stumbled upon an article about Dr. Nimtz and the enigmatic processes of superluminal quantum tunneling. Intrigued, I reached out to him, and he graciously agreed to demonstrate his experiment.
“Having met Prof. Dr. Nimtz for the first time I was shown his new tunneling experiment. As a lay person I’m not able to launch immediately into an in-depth scientific interpretation of his experiment but I will dutifully try to comprehend what I saw today, and try and share my insights and questions and make the data available as they become known.”
“I present here for the first time world-exclusive pictures of Prof. Nimtz’s new experiment setup.”
In this experiment, the quantum-tunneled signal was measured against a signal traveling through ordinary laboratory space. To demonstrate this, Dr. Nimtz employed an oscilloscope and a detector diode to accurately gauge the tunneling time.
Mozart at 4.7 Times the Speed of Light
In anticipation of potential questions in the future, I prepared a short video six years ago that includes the last surviving recording of the superluminal Mozart transmission.
Technical Questions
In August 2023, I corresponded with Horst Aichmann, the engineer behind the quantum tunneling experiment and a co-author with Professor Nimtz on various related papers. I inquired about the modulation and detection of the signal timing. He provided the following information:
“During our timing measurements, I created a pulse modulator equipped with specialized filtering, enabling a repetition rate of 13 MHz and a rise time of approximately 500 picoseconds. The AM signal provides an easily detectable and measurable trace, thanks to a fast detector diode coupled with a sufficiently rapid oscilloscope.”
If we indeed accept the existence of superluminal effects originating from quantum tunneling, we can conclude that this phenomenon allows a particle to enter a strictly localized tachyonic state, for a very short period of time.
Superluminal tunneling has been successfully performed hundreds of times in laboratories worldwide, demonstrating its applicability in everyday technology. For instance, the fingerprint reader on your smartphone utilizes quantum tunneling. You may not think about it, but it simply works!
When quantum tunneling occurs with a red laser pointer (operating at a frequency of several hundred terahertz), the evanescent tachyonic field only extends a few picometers because of the high frequency.
During Nimtz’s experiments, he utilized a frequency of 8.7 GHz, which coincidentally matched the wavelength of Helium-3 emissions. This particular frequency enabled his evanescent field to be detectable over several centimeters between prisms. (It just happened that the microwave emitter available in the university lab operated at this frequency.)
Interestingly, it appears that the lower the frequency used, the more extensive the evanescent field extends from the barrier.
Recently, this groundbreaking experiment was replicated by Peter Elsen and Simon Tebeck, who presented their findings at “Jugend forscht,” Germany’s prestigious student physics competition, in 2019. Their work earned them first prize from Rheinland-Pfalz as well as the Heraeus Prize for Germany.
Left: Former chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, right: “Jugend Forscht” winner Peter Elsen (17)
What is a brane? (Topology and String Theory in a nutshell)
The rule that nothing can move faster than light has a little-known exception: evanescent waves. Various explanations have been tried to account for this phenomenon.
My explanation is simple: a photon is the smallest possible unit of topology, geometry, dimension, information, energy, or anything. Topologically, a photon is a zero-dimensional point in space; it is a quantum of zero (0) dimension.
In the mesmerizing ballet of quantum tunneling, this photon, this pure potential, traverses a barrier. In doing so, it transforms; as a point transitions from one locality to another, it becomes a line—a string. It is this very string, that delicate filament, which finds its place in the grand narrative of string theory. Suddenly, we have transcended from the ethereal realm of the zero-dimensional to the tangible reality of a one-dimensional object.
In the lexicon of theoretical physics, we might also refer to this one-dimensional string as a “brane,” existing within a confined, one-dimensional space devoid of the tapestry of time.
What is a brane?
In the realms of string and quantum theory, a 1-brane are one-dimensional “objects or waves” that traverse space-time—not through classical laws, but governed by the principles of quantum physics. When we consider one-dimensional space, we omit the fourth dimension, which is time.
In this context, photons or strings can move superluminally. This isn’t merely an abstract mathematical idea; it reflects our reality.
Evanescent waves result from photons re-entering the four-dimensional non-quantum realm, allowing us to witness the faster-than-light movement of a photon traversing a barrier.
It’s space, Jim, but not as we know it
Albert Einstein explained his theory of special relativity using geometry by the mathematician Hermann Minkowski, who unified space and time into a four-dimensional spacetime continuum.
For his theory of general relativity, Einstein employed Riemannian geometry—a branch that includes the concept of curved space—to describe how mass and energy distort spacetime.
This “topology,” the curved space model, has held an endless fascination for us since early times.
A human meditating on the Riemann Sphere
A sphere exists in 3 and 4 dimensions. In zero- and one-dimensional realms, the sphere (and time) do not exist, because these dimensions lack the necessary structure to define a “surface” or “volume,” let alone “time.”
Is it “time” to move beyond the Riemann sphere in our understanding of the cosmos?
Imagine a realm where time and space bend, where particles can travel faster than light. This phenomenon, known as superluminality, is not just a science fiction dream; it touches on the very fabric of reality. Let us explore the astonishing findings of scientists like Thomas Hartman, who illuminated our understanding of quantum tunneling back in 1962.
The Hartman Effect
Quantum tunneling times were first measured by Thomas Elton Hartman in 1962, when he worked for Texas Instruments in Dallas. In “Tunneling of a wave packet,” he described that the time it takes for particles, such as photons, to tunnel through a barrier does not depend on the length of that barrier.
Image: T.E. Hartman (1931 to 2009), Sketch after photo, (c) 2025
When we delve deeper into this strange world of quantum mechanics, it appears that, inside certain barriers, particles can seem to defy our classical understanding of speed—almost as if they are slipping through a cosmic loophole.
As technology has advanced, we’ve been able to measure the tiniest increments of time, leading us to discover that the process of quantum tunneling may allow particles to traverse barriers faster than the speed of light itself.
Recent Revelations with the Larmor Clock
In a recent exploration reported by Quanta Magazine (Quantum Tunnels Show How Particles Can Break the Speed of Light), physicist Dr. Aephraim Steinberg from the University of Toronto made fascinating observations using an ingenious tool called the Larmor clock.
This clock, named after the Irish physicistJoseph Larmor, tracks the spin of particles in magnetic fields. Steinberg found that rubidium atoms take an astonishingly short time—only 0.61 milliseconds—to pass through barriers, significantly faster than they would in empty space. This is consistent with the Larmor clock periods that were theorized in the 1980s!
“In the six decades since Hartman’s paper, no matter how carefully physicists have redefined tunneling time or how precisely they’ve measured it in the lab, they’ve found that quantum tunneling invariably exhibits the Hartmann effect. Tunneling seems to be incurably, robustly superluminal.” Natalie Wolchover
“The calculations show that if you built the barrier very thick, the speedup would allow atoms to tunnel from one side to the other more quickly than light.” Dr. Aephraim Steinberg
These findings raise captivating questions: What happens inside the barrier?
The Nature of the Barrier
When asked about what occurs within this barrier, Horst Aichmann, a colleague of Dr. Nimtz, engaged in a thought-provoking discussion. He noted that, intriguingly, the wave emerging at the end of the tunnel remains in phase with the wave before it entered. What does this mean? It suggests that, somehow, the nature of time might change, or even disappear, in this kind of tunneling scenario.
10. August 2023, 3:03 pm “In our tunneling experiments, the wave exits instantaneously with the same phase at the output of the tunnel and propagates as ‘normal RF’ with a very high loss. Inside the tunnel the question is, What can happen in zero time? Regards, Horst Aichmann”
“Hohlleiter” quantum tunnelling device
“Thank you for your answer. So, taking into account the wavelength and frequency of the signal, you are saying that the apparent superluminal behavior is only manifested inside the tunnel? And the tunnel is the air gap between the prisms? Regards, Eric”
Aug 10, 2023, 4:16 pm “This is correct… the point is, when you look at the phase before and after the tunnel, you see the same phase… We used different pieces between 3 and 15 cm, and they all showed the same result—NO phase change.
Our interpretation is : phase-change = 0 means time = 0
So we have a space with no time, and even more, if this is correct, this space doesn’t have a volume, right??? Horst Aichmann”
I thought about this question for a while and approached the problem from a topological perspective:
“One of my insights appears to be that a tunneling photon particle exits 4-dimensional space as a zero-dimensional point, tunnels as a one-dimensional string (tunnel), to re-emerge as a field/wave into 4D space.”
Erich Habich-Traut
Imagine a world where time and distance lose their meaning, a sort of cosmic fabric where particles flit in and out without the usual constraints of our three-dimensional experience.
This space is a kind of UNIFIER, where neither distance nor time exist. Particles/waves pass in and out of this dimension throughout the whole universe, continuously.
The QUANTUM REALM
This drift into the unknown brings us to the idea of the quantum realm—a space that defies our ordinary perceptions. Here, particles move freely and continuously, creating waves that may carry hidden information from a realm beyond our comprehension. Think of it as a bridge between dimensions, where everything is interconnected in a timeless tapestry.
Some quanta (particles/waves) traverse this one-dimensional space region continuously, simply by hitting a barrier, generating an evanescent wave. I posit that tunneled quanta carry information from this superluminal traversal.
They have been to a strange place, from our perspective, the quantum realm. They have been to a one-dimensional space without time. Where everything is everywhere and everywhen at once.
Quantum mechanical effects in the quantum realm of the fictional Marvel universe are said to become significant at scales of less than 100 nanometers. In reality, it depends on the size of the system.
So, there is a very significant quantum mechanical effect without which life on Earth would not be possible.
The filaments of a human neuron have a diameter of approx. 10 nanometers, that is, 500 to 1000 times smaller. And there are quantum effects at play as well.
The Hard Problem of Consciousness
Now, we come to a deeply philosophical question: What about consciousness? Where does it originate, and where does it go? This mystery, often regarded as the “Hard Problem,” seeks to unravel the connection between our thoughts and the biological machinery of our brains.
Could it be that consciousness arises from our brain’s ability to connect through waves that traverse a bizarre one-dimensional realm? If so, this suggests that even the simplest forms of life could be imbued with consciousness—almost like tiny sparks of awareness fluttering in the dark. Consciousness. Where does it come from, and where does it go?
Cuneiform: the first human writing looked like the pyramidal neurons that invented writing.
“I posit that human consciousness arises because of its connection via neurons and other brain structures to a one-dimensional time- and space-less realm via evanescent waves. From this quantum realm, information is transported into our world.”
Erich Habich-Traut
If this hypothesis is correct, then any entity generating (electromagnetic) waves or energy could be able to attain or access consciousness. Even midichloria amoeba, the ancestors of mitochondria that produce ATP in the human cell, can attain consciousness. CPU’s and GPU’s also are subject to this phenomenon, to a degree.
The Quest for Superluminal Communication
Imagine a universe where some particles can slip through barriers as if they weren’t there at all—not constrained by space or time, but instead playing a game of hide-and-seek with reality. This idea, once the realm of science fiction, is rooted in a peculiar feature of quantum mechanics known as superluminal tunneling.
Herbig-Haro 46/47: Galactic question mark.
Dr. Aephraim Steinberg suggests that while a single particle tunneling through a barrier can perform this astonishing feat, it doesn’t carry information across open space in the traditional sense. Much like a whisper that gets lost before it reaches someone’s ear, a single tunneling particle cannot communicate “through the air.”
And this raises fascinating questions: What if we could harness the quantum tunneling phenomenon for communication? Think about our dreams of sending instant messages to a Mars mission or receiving signals from distant stars. Such superluminal signals could revolutionize how we explore the cosmos.
For years, I pondered this intriguing possibility. I considered the cosmic microwave background—a faint whisper of radiation from the Big Bang itself. This background noise, emanating from every corner of the universe, resembles a symphony of frequencies, stretching from 300 MHz in our familiar TV bands to a staggering 630 GHz. Yet, despite the universe’s vastness, we find that these free-range superluminal waves simply do not manifest.
MICROCOSM
This leads us to another realm—the microcosm of the brain! Recently, I stumbled upon research that revealed something remarkable: evanescent waves exist within the intricate landscape of our brains, says the WETCOW research paper. These fleeting waves thrive in places where electromagnetic energy flows—like living cells, plants, and even the very processors that power our computers. They thrive in the cosmos as a whole and in particular.
Do these faster-than-light waves violate the fundamental principles of general relativity? Professor Steinberg assures us, “Not at all.” True superluminal signalling would require that these waves exceed their own wavelength, a feat that, given our current understanding, is beyond reach. Instead, these evanescent waves remain within the standard limits of light speed, rendering them undetectable after a brief flash—much like a firefly in the dark that illuminates, only to dim swiftly and become undetectable.
So, under ordinary circumstances, the superluminal evanescent wave is within the normal speed wave as shown in this illustration (d):
The tunneled signal versus time of a normal airborne photon moving from right to left, d arrives before the main wave ←
The tunneled signal doesn’t have time to overtake the wave, because evanescent waves are, well, evanescent. They vanish; vanishing is the meaning of the word “evanescent.” For this reason they don’t violate causality or general relativity.
Yet, before they vanish, something thrilling happens: these evanescent waves can travel at astonishing speeds. As we discovered earlier, they are faster-than-light. Within the maze of the brain, where one cubic millimeter of cerebral cortex contains, on average, 126,823 neurons, there lies the potential for extraordinarily fast signal processing. These tiny structures interact in ways that might facilitate a form of communication that transcends boundaries.
And this is the really exciting thing: superluminal information transmission inside the brain is possible. Because there are a vast number of structures in brains that can process these signals within the dimensions of the wavelength.
Evanescent fields, as these waves are also called, match the dimensions of typical biomolecular components such as DNA, peptides, proteins, and neurons.
“The immense processing speed of the human brain can in part or wholly be explained by superluminal signal transmission.”
Erich Habich-Traut
EVANESCENT WAVE DECAY: A Journey into the Invisible
In the grand exploration of the cosmos, we encounter a variety of phenomena, many of which elude our senses and challenge our understanding. One such elusive entity is the evanescent wave or field.
But why do these delicate waves dissipate so quickly? Could it be that as they travel, they encounter an unseen resistance, much like a boat moving through water? When we push any object through a stationary medium, we are faced with a palpable force that resists our efforts—the inertia of the medium itself. For instance, if you were to drop a drop of ink into a still glass of water, you would witness the ink spread out in a beautiful, swirling dance. This occurs not because the ink wishes to disperse, but because it encounters the very resistance of the water.
Is the dispersal of the evanescent wave caused by the very inertia or viscosity of four-dimensional space that the evanescent wave meets after departing the quantum tunnel?
Wait a few moments and think about it. How could you prove this analogy?
In our exploration of physics, we often encounter different types of waves. Traditional radiowaves, for instance, decay in strength according to the square of the distance traveled from their source. This means that as we move twice as far away, the signal grows weaker by a factor of four. In stark contrast, evanescent waves exhibit a more dramatic decline. They vanish exponentially, their presence fading far more rapidly than their traditional counterparts, like candles snuffed out by an unexpected gust of wind.
You could try to find a waveform that decays in the same manner.
A bit of research reveals that ocean waves decay exponentially:
In fact, evanescent waves decay in a manner strikingly similar to ocean waves. And isn’t this a beautiful analogy?
How do we leap from one idea to another? How do we embrace concepts before we have the rigorous proof to back them? The answer often lies in thought experiments—powerful mental journeys that spark our curiosity and lead us to hypotheses.
A hypothesis is an educated assumption, a stepping stone laid down on the path toward discovery. But each hypothesis must withstand the rigor of experimental testing, where it can be examined and repeated by others who venture down the same road.
In our pursuit of understanding, let us engage in a bit of whimsy. Instead of merely imagining a boat sailing through water, picture instead a large beast—a cow.
Yes, a “WET COW!” As amusing as this image may be, it illustrates a critical point about weakly evanescent cortical waves.
While the original authors of the WETCOW model did not explicitly reference the concept of superluminality in relation to evanescent waves, our exploration of these ideas reveals intriguing connections, challenging the boundaries between established science and novel discoveries.
CONSEQUENCES: The Cosmic Implications of Our Findings
The faster-than-light origin of evanescent brainwaves is not required to make the Galinsky/Frank WETCOW model work.
Rather, their nature serves as a lens through which we can glimpse the remarkable speed at which our brains process information and engage with the fabric of consciousness itself.
In the realm of quantum physics, we encounter the symbol Ψ (Psi), representing the probabilistic wave function—a mysterious mathematical entity that conveys the uncertainties of existence. Yet, in parapsychology, this same symbol symbolizes the unknown factor behind supernatural experiences that science has yet to explain.
Amidst this landscape, we confront extraordinary phenomena such as precognition—the tantalizing ability to glimpse the future. In a world ruled by cause and effect, how do we reconcile these seemingly paradoxical episodes? The presence of evanescent waves offers a tantalizing possibility: what if, within their strange nature, reversals of cause and effect are not just fanciful musings but rather probabilities we must reconsider?
“As we explore the mysteries of faster-than-light phenomena, we may encounter even more extraordinary discoveries. For instance, quantum entanglement—a proven physical phenomenon—and its speculative psychological analog, telepathy, could both arise from the unified topological structure of a zero-brane, as described in certain models of theoretical physics.”
Erich Habich-Traut
The cosmos brims with tantalizing enigmas waiting for us to uncover, and it beckons us to explore worlds where the boundaries of time and space may expand beyond our wildest imaginings.
So let us remain curious, my friends, as we venture forth together into the vastness, unearthing the secrets of the universe and nurturing the spark of discovery that lies within us all.
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
We use cookies to optimize our website and our service.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
