For those of you that weren’t at the Hackaday SuperConference, it started off with a pretty intense talk that could have been tough for anyone to follow. However, [Shanni Prutchi] presented her talk on quantum entanglement of photons in a way that is both approachable, and leaves you with plenty of hints for further study.
[Shanni Prutchi] is studying Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rowan University and has already been published on the topics of radio astronomy and radiation measurement. But more directly connected to this talk is her co-authorship of the book Exploring Quantum Physics Through Hands-On Projects.
[Shanni] explains the current methods of identifying two entangled photons. She is not just explaining how one could conduct this experiment, she is explaining how she did conduct this experiment.
The two particles have properties that are tied to each other in such a way that the quantum state of one particle exhibits an immediate correlation to its entangled particle, even when the particles are separated.
The first example is a form of quantum teleportation. The sender manipulates one entangled photon while the receiver measures this. The manipulation happens instantaneously despite any physical distance between the two.
This gives the appearance that the particle has been teleported from one place to another.
The second application she covers is Quantum Key Distribution. This is a form of Quantum Cryptography where several pairs of entangled photons are used in something of a public/private key pair. The virtue of this system is that it make it possible to immediately detect a man-in-the-middle attack. However, as [Shanni] mentions, there is current research that points to vulnerabilities in this system.
To date, entanglement of quantum memories in the form of qubits has only been achieved with node separation of 1.7 km; now, the entanglement distance has been extended to 22 km, bringing quantum communication a step closer.
Scientists are edging closer to making a super-secure, super-fast quantum internet possible: they’ve now been able to ‘teleport’ high-fidelity quantum information over a total distance of 44 kilometres (27 miles).
Both data fidelity and transfer distance are crucial when it comes to building a real, working quantum internet, and making progress in either of these areas is cause for celebration for those building our next-generation communications network.
In this case the team achieved a greater than 90 percent fidelity (data accuracy) level with its quantum information, as well as sending it across extensive fibre optic networks similar to those that form the backbone of our existing internet.
Researchers at QuTech — a collaboration between Delft University of Technology and the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research — recently took a big step toward making that a reality. For the first time, they succeeded in sending quantum information between non-adjacent qubits on a rudimentary network. Their findings were published in the journal Nature.
While modern computers use bits, zeroes, and ones, to encode information, quantum computers us quantum bits or qubits. A qubit works in much the same way as a bit, except it’s able to hold both a 0 and a 1 at the same time, allowing for faster and more powerful computation. The trouble begins when you want to transmit that information to another location. Quantum computing has a communications problem.
Today, if you want to send information to another computer on a network, that’s largely accomplished using light through fiber optic cables. The information from qubits can be transmitted the same way but only reliably over short distances. Fiber optic networks have a relatively high rate of loss and rely on cloning bits and boosting their signal in order to transmit over significant distances. Qubits, however, can’t be copied or boosted. That means that when and if information is lost, it’s lost for good, and the longer the journey the more likely that is to happen.
That’s where Hiro Nakamura comes in, or at least his quantum counterpart. In order to reliably transmit quantum data, scientists use quantum teleportation, a phenomenon that relies on entanglement or what Einstein called “spooky action at a distance.”
Using that spooky connection, scientists can transmit information between the two particles and that information appears at one particle and vanishes at the other instantly.
This has some important implications for the future of communication. First, using quantum teleportation networks avoids the threat of packet loss over fiber optic cables. Second, it effectively encrypts the information at Alice’s end. In order to decode the information, you need to know the result of the calculation Charlie performed. The third thing builds upon the first; despite the immediate transfer of quantum information, we are still bound by the speed of light. As you know, the cosmic speed limit isn’t just a suggestion, it’s the law. Sending the calculation information to Alice in order to decode the information relies on more traditional communications bound by light speed. No getting around it.
While this is an important step toward a quantum internet, in order to build the sorts of networks we’ll need for everyday use, we’re going to need a lot more nodes. But, hey, even today’s global communications network started with a single telephone.
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12 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
Uses for Quantum Entanglement with Shanni Prutchi
http://hackaday.com/2015/11/30/uses-for-quantum-entanglement-with-shanni-prutchi/
For those of you that weren’t at the Hackaday SuperConference, it started off with a pretty intense talk that could have been tough for anyone to follow. However, [Shanni Prutchi] presented her talk on quantum entanglement of photons in a way that is both approachable, and leaves you with plenty of hints for further study.
[Shanni Prutchi] is studying Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rowan University and has already been published on the topics of radio astronomy and radiation measurement. But more directly connected to this talk is her co-authorship of the book Exploring Quantum Physics Through Hands-On Projects.
[Shanni] explains the current methods of identifying two entangled photons. She is not just explaining how one could conduct this experiment, she is explaining how she did conduct this experiment.
The two particles have properties that are tied to each other in such a way that the quantum state of one particle exhibits an immediate correlation to its entangled particle, even when the particles are separated.
The first example is a form of quantum teleportation. The sender manipulates one entangled photon while the receiver measures this. The manipulation happens instantaneously despite any physical distance between the two.
This gives the appearance that the particle has been teleported from one place to another.
The second application she covers is Quantum Key Distribution. This is a form of Quantum Cryptography where several pairs of entangled photons are used in something of a public/private key pair. The virtue of this system is that it make it possible to immediately detect a man-in-the-middle attack. However, as [Shanni] mentions, there is current research that points to vulnerabilities in this system.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Quantum memories entangled over 22 km of fiber, breaking 1.7 km record
https://www.laserfocusworld.com/fiber-optics/article/14168540/quantum-memories-entangled-over-22-km-of-fiber-breaking-17-km-record
To date, entanglement of quantum memories in the form of qubits has only been achieved with node separation of 1.7 km; now, the entanglement distance has been extended to 22 km, bringing quantum communication a step closer.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://quantumxc.com/is-quantum-communication-faster-than-the-speed-of-light/
Tomi Engdahl says:
NASA SCIENTISTS ACHIEVE LONG-DISTANCE QUANTUM TELEPORTATION THAT COULD PAVE WAY FOR QUANTUM INTERNET
Researchers say this could revolutionise data storage and computing, while ushering in a new era of communication
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/quantum-teleportation-nasa-internet-b1777105.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
Quantum Teleportation Was Just Achieved With 90% Accuracy Over a 44km Distance
https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-achieve-sustained-high-fidelity-quantum-teleportation-over-44-km
Scientists are edging closer to making a super-secure, super-fast quantum internet possible: they’ve now been able to ‘teleport’ high-fidelity quantum information over a total distance of 44 kilometres (27 miles).
Both data fidelity and transfer distance are crucial when it comes to building a real, working quantum internet, and making progress in either of these areas is cause for celebration for those building our next-generation communications network.
In this case the team achieved a greater than 90 percent fidelity (data accuracy) level with its quantum information, as well as sending it across extensive fibre optic networks similar to those that form the backbone of our existing internet.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3117005/chinas-experiment-quantum-communication-brings-beijing-closer
Tomi Engdahl says:
chinese scientists achieve quantum teleportation using two hovering drones
https://www.designboom.com/technology/two-hovering-drones-demonstrate-the-quantum-internet-01-25-2021/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Quantum data link established between two distant Chinese cities
Read more: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2281591-quantum-data-link-established-between-two-distant-chinese-cities/#ixzz70aAdbima
Tomi Engdahl says:
‘Quantum Internet’ Inches Closer With Advance in Data Teleportation
Scientists have improved their ability to send quantum information across distant computers — and have taken another step toward the network of the future.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/25/technology/quantum-internet-teleportation.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
Quantum information was teleported over a network for the first time
https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/researchers-created-the-first-quantum-network
Researchers at QuTech — a collaboration between Delft University of Technology and the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research — recently took a big step toward making that a reality. For the first time, they succeeded in sending quantum information between non-adjacent qubits on a rudimentary network. Their findings were published in the journal Nature.
While modern computers use bits, zeroes, and ones, to encode information, quantum computers us quantum bits or qubits. A qubit works in much the same way as a bit, except it’s able to hold both a 0 and a 1 at the same time, allowing for faster and more powerful computation. The trouble begins when you want to transmit that information to another location. Quantum computing has a communications problem.
Today, if you want to send information to another computer on a network, that’s largely accomplished using light through fiber optic cables. The information from qubits can be transmitted the same way but only reliably over short distances. Fiber optic networks have a relatively high rate of loss and rely on cloning bits and boosting their signal in order to transmit over significant distances. Qubits, however, can’t be copied or boosted. That means that when and if information is lost, it’s lost for good, and the longer the journey the more likely that is to happen.
That’s where Hiro Nakamura comes in, or at least his quantum counterpart. In order to reliably transmit quantum data, scientists use quantum teleportation, a phenomenon that relies on entanglement or what Einstein called “spooky action at a distance.”
Using that spooky connection, scientists can transmit information between the two particles and that information appears at one particle and vanishes at the other instantly.
This has some important implications for the future of communication. First, using quantum teleportation networks avoids the threat of packet loss over fiber optic cables. Second, it effectively encrypts the information at Alice’s end. In order to decode the information, you need to know the result of the calculation Charlie performed. The third thing builds upon the first; despite the immediate transfer of quantum information, we are still bound by the speed of light. As you know, the cosmic speed limit isn’t just a suggestion, it’s the law. Sending the calculation information to Alice in order to decode the information relies on more traditional communications bound by light speed. No getting around it.
While this is an important step toward a quantum internet, in order to build the sorts of networks we’ll need for everyday use, we’re going to need a lot more nodes. But, hey, even today’s global communications network started with a single telephone.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Quantum network between two national labs achieves record synch
https://phys.org/news/2022-06-quantum-network-national-labs-synch.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
Record-Breaking Experiment Quantum Entangles Two Atoms 20 Miles Apart
By quantum entangling two stationary atoms across 20 miles of fiber optic cable, researchers may have paved the way for the creation of a quantum internet.
https://www.iflscience.com/record-breaking-experiment-quantum-entangles-two-atoms-20-miles-apart-64374