(SCMP) A team of researchers in China has “entangled” two clouds of atoms via a 50km (31-mile) optical fibre – a breakthrough that could help make quantum internet technology a reality. Researchers say the development could bring a “quantum internet” closer to reality.
A “quantum internet”, founded on this mysterious entangling ability, could fundamentally change information technology and society as a whole.
SCMP wrote that China is generally regarded as a world leader on quantum communication technology – it developed the first quantum satellite and has the longest quantum key distribution network in operation.
The idea of building a quantum internet with entangled atoms as repeaters – which relay the quantum message from one stop to the next – is not new, but until now the longest distance the photons had travelled was just over 1km. Optical fibre, the backbone of modern telecommunications, is not a friendly medium for entangled light particles. According to some estimates, if 100 quadrillion entangled photons travelled through optical fibre, only one of them would survive after 50km.
Information on a future quantum internet would be carried by entangled photons. For now though, this type of quantum communication technology is severely limited by bandwidth.
Chinese Scientists Report Breakthrough on Quantum Internet Technology with Entangled Atoms
