In a major breakthrough, a joint team of researchers from Caltech, the Fermilab Department of Energy, AT&T, Harvard University, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab and the University of Calgary announced that they had managed to teleport photon cubes in about 27 miles (43.4523 kilometers) of fiber optic cable, per Fermilab.
Similar projects had been carried out in the past; however, it differs from the others in that it is the first to transmit quantum information over such a long distance.
The experiment, conducted using “available” equipment compatible with both existing telecommunications infrastructure and emerging quantum technologies, could “provide a realistic basis for a high-fidelity quantum internet with practical devices,” the researchers said. Motherboard.
The study was published in the journal Like PRX.
It revolutionizes data storage and computing
Scientists have managed to send qubits, which work by replacing traditional bits with quantum bits 27 miles (43.4523 kilometers) fiber optic cable with a network built with available equipment. Moreover, the researchers managed to do the experiment everywhere two separate networks and with greater fidelity than 90 percent.
Scientists claim that this achievement will usher in a new era of communication, per Independent. Once the realization is used to develop a quantum internet service, it could revolutionize data storage and computing.
According to the researchers, the team worked persistently and “kept its head down in recent years.”
Panagiotis Spentzouris, head of the Quantum Science Program at Fermilab, wrote in an e-mail to Motherboard, “We wanted to push the envelope for this type of research and take important steps on a path to realize both real-life applications for quantum communications and networks and to test the basic ideas of physics.”
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“So when we finally did, the team was thrilled, very proud to have achieved these high-quality, record-breaking results,” he continued. “And we are very excited that we can move on to the next phase, using the know-how and technologies from this to the implementation of quantum networks.”
Does that mean you should sign up for a quantum internet provider? Not realy. In response to questions jokingly on social media, Maria Spiropulu, a Shang-Yi Ch’en physics professor at Caltech, said, “We need (much) more research and development.”