Chinese scientists have succeeded in creating quantum entanglement between two “quantum memories” over a very long distance (50 km). This scientific achievement could one day change the way the Internet.
This discovery could be the first step towards a quantum internet. It is essentially a step towards further developing quantum entanglement over the long distances necessary for such a network.
Researchers have long been trying to create a new kind of network that would use elements of the quantum world to transmit data at extremely fast speeds and securely.
The quantum network works like the traditional internet. It allows for the communication of large amounts of data over long distances. However, the communication is done via quantum bits, or qubits, between quantum processors. This way of communication offers many more possibilities than the traditional internet.
To do this, it would be necessary to be able to transmit particles that are “entangled.” This means that the particles can influence each other over long distances. In recent years, researchers have managed to do this via cables or satellites, but there was a limitation in distance.
When quantum transmission is used over very long distances, there is often a problem because there are losses and communications are not reliable.
Until now, the longest distance at which quantum entanglement had occurred was 1.3 kilometers.
In the new research, scientists managed to do this at a distance of 50 km. They did it by using a specific quantum phenomenon, which allows data to be transmitted over much longer distances.
Scientists argue that this could be the beginning of a quantum internet that could allow connectivity between cities.
In the study, the researchers looked at how they could communicate between two quantum memories, which are the quantum version of regular computer. While a piece of computer memory stores information as 1s or 0s, quantum memory allows for much more powerful computing.
To achieve entanglement between the quantum memories, the researchers used photons, or individual particles of light, along a 50-kilometer cable. The two memories were able to interact with each other, the experiment was successful, and it proved that quantum entanglement can occur over such a long distance.
