In a major breakthrough, a joint team of researchers from Caltech, the Department of Energy Fermilab, AT&T, Harvard University, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab and the University of Calgary announced that they had managed to teleport qubits of photons about 27 miles (43.4523 kilometers) fiber optic cable, per Fermilab.
Similar projects have been done in the past; however, it differs from the others in that it is the first to transmit quantum information over such a great distance.
The experiment, conducted using “ standard equipment ” that is compatible with both existing telecommunications infrastructure and emerging quantum technologies, could provide “ a realistic foundation for a high-fidelity quantum internet with practical devices, ” the researchers said. Motherboard.
The study has been published in the journal Such as PRX.
A revolution in data storage and computing
Scientists were able to forward qubits that work by replacing traditional bits with quantum bits 27 miles (43.4523 kilometers) fiber optic cable network built with ready-to-use equipment. In addition, the researchers were able to conduct the experiment crosswise two separate networks and with a faithfulness greater than 90 percent.
The scientists claim this feat will usher in a new era of communication, per Independent. Once the achievement is used to develop a quantum internet service, it can revolutionize data storage and computing.
According to the researchers, the team had been tenacious in recent years and “bowed its head”.
Panagiotis Spentzouris, head of the Quantum Science Program at Fermilab, wrote in an email to Motherboard, “We wanted to push the boundaries for this type of research and take important steps towards real-life applications for quantum communications as well as networking and testing basic physical ideas.”
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“So when we finally did it, the team was delighted, very proud of achieving these high-quality, record-breaking results,” he further explained. “And we are very excited to move to the next stage, leveraging the know-how and technologies of this work to develop quantum networks.”
However, does that mean you need to sign up for a quantum internet service provider? Not really. Responding to jokingly asked questions on social media, Maria Spiropulu, Shang-Yi Ch’en professor of physics at Caltech said, “We need (much) more R&D work.”