Chinese Researchers Quantum Teleport a Photon 100km Away

[Exarch]

Chinese Researchers Quantum Teleport Photons Over 60 Miles

Since 1997, researchers have been able to quantum teleport photons with a major record being set by researchers at the University of Science and Technology of China in Shanghai. In 2010, that team successfully teleported a photon over 16km. Now that same team has released new findings, in which they claim to have teleported photons nearly 100km, or over 60 miles.

Now, quantum teleportation isn’t quite the same thing as the teleportation in Star Trek. When researchers teleport a photon, they aren’t teleporting the actual photon, but rather the information contained in it through quantum entanglement. In essence, the second photon at the end of the teleport becomes the first one – or at least, it becomes an identical qubit of information. So the information is exchanged without actually travelling through the intervening distance.

(If that sounds bizarre and frightening, you’re in good company. Albert Einstein understatedly called the process of quantum entanglement “spooky action at a distance.”)


Quantum Teleportation Breakthrough May Pave the Way for Quantum Computing
Alex Knapp
Forbes Staff

Researchers Successfully Eavesdrop On Quantum Encrypted Communications
Alex Knapp
Forbes Staff
The challenge for quantum teleportation is that it has to be done in free space. Fiberoptics don’t work, because once you get to distances over about 1 kilometer, the fiber absorbs so much light that the information is lost. But while a fiberoptic cable can keep photons focused, moving over free space means using lasers – which inevitably causes the beam of light to spread out over time. However, using a powerful laser along with some other optical equipment, the researchers here developed a technique to keep the beam focused over the course of 97km, and successfully achieved quantum teleportation.

The ability to teleport information means that it could be possible to have worldwide communications that are impossible to listen in on. Because in quantum teleportation, the information doesn’t travel over any intervening distances, there’s no way to tap into the communication. As Technology Review notes, “these guys clearly have their eye on the possibility of satellite-based quantum cryptography which would provide ultra secure communications around the world.”

That technology is still a long way off, however. Despite the fact that the communication developed here is very efficient, it’s also very slow. They’ll also have to keep improving the distance. 60 miles for teleportation is a new record. It’s impressive. But communications satellites are typically in geosynchronous orbit – 22,236 miles up in the air.

Still, while there’s still a long way to go before we have true quantum-teleportation powered communications, this is a huge step in that direction.

Source:http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknap...over-60-miles/

more in depth from Popular Science:

Beam Us Up Teleportation doesn't work for humans — yet — but it works over long distances, a new study reports. Time Magazine
Teleportation, sci-fi-y as it sounds, is actually not fictional or even new; two years ago, Chinese physicists broke the then-current record for quantum teleportation by teleporting photons over 10 miles. But a new effort from that same team demolishes that record, beaming the photons over 97 kilometers.
The physicists, working from the University of Science and Technology of China in Shanghai, have again taken advantage of quantum entanglement for the purposes of moving an object from one place to another without ever moving in the space between. According to Technology Review, "The idea is not that the physical object is teleported but the information that describes it. This can then be applied to a similar object in a new location which effectively takes on the new identity."
The task uses a 1.3-watt laser "and some fancy optics" to beam those photons and retrieve them at the final location. The trick seems to be maintaining the photons' information, since the beam widens over space, but eventually teleportation of this sort could be used to beam information incredibly quickly up to satellites.

Source: http://www.popsci.com/science/articl...100-kilometers

Needless to say, this is a breakthrough in communications with future offworld colonies and even IT. y'know how it takes like a 2-3 seconds for radio messages to transmit from Earth to the moon, and radio messages from Earth to MArs takes forever; well with quantum communications, the effects could be instanteneous.

[alexanderswift]

Pretty nifty, the first article talking worldwide communications that can't tapped is quite interesting as well, the military and police applications of that would be extraordinarily useful.

[Exarch]

Pretty nifty, the first article talking worldwide communications that can't tapped is quite interesting as well, the military and police applications of that would be extraordinarily useful.

indeed, it can't be tapped (according to current scientific theories and state of the art experiments) because anyone using the comms would know if they were being tapped. The military and eventually commercial implications for this is huge. Secure comms, coming to a future near you.

[Sphere]

Despite the hype, quantum entanglement cannot be used to send information faster than light.

The entangled particles do seem to react to each other instantaneously no matter the distance, but importantly these reactions cannot be predicted before hand and thus you cannot send any information. To illustrate, you have two particles at a distance that can have property - or +. Before the particle is measured, it is a mixture of - and +, but once it is measured it has to be one or the other, ditto with its entangled partner.


Entangle : +/- ...+/-

Split apart: +/- ...................................................................... +/-

Measure : + .......................................................................... - (50% chance)

or this : - .......................................................................... + (50% Chance)

The critical point is that you cannot force the particle to be + or - when you measure it, it chooses it on it's own. So it cannot be used to transfer information, even though it is linked to another particle a long distance away.

[visser300]

In brief, this 'discover' is totally useless.

[Sphere]

In brief, this 'discover' is totally useless.

No, it may be useful in another way.

Although you cannot transmit information faster than light, theoretically you can have unbreakable encryption. Although you cannot choose which way the entangled pairs come out when you measure them, you will know exactly what the other side has measured instantly. You can use the fact that you are both looking at the same results as a sort of encryption key which you can use to decode subsequent transmissions.

For example you could send four entangled particles, when they are measured they come out (+,-,-,+)
Now you send a second conventional message that is (1,4,2,1)
If you match the second message using the first as a key you have (+,+,-,+)
Or to think in binary (1,1,0,1)

Because the "encryption key" was never physically transmitted, but came out of measuring entangled pairs, you have perfect encryption.

[visser300]

Even 'breakable information' nowaday could take decades or centuries to break. 90% of security issues come from Human, not technology.

Why do we need to spend a mountain of money to fix an issue that only accounts for 10% of the primary issue?

[Jack04]

Even 'breakable information' nowaday could take decades or centuries to break. 90% of security issues come from Human, not technology.

Why do we need to spend a mountain of money to fix an issue that only accounts for 10% of the primary issue?

Quantum computers are likely to make conventional encryption methods very vulnerable. Even without that, brute force methods will (especially given Moore's law) become more and more effective.

The final chapter in Simon Singh's The Code Book summarised the issue rather well.

Anyway, this is important in terms of the actual physics, because it is yet another demonstration that quantum theory works.

Edit: ... and also, quantum encryption would ultimately eliminate the human element in encryption as well, because there would be no human requirement.

[MathiasOfAthens]

Everyone knows the Chinese cannot be trusted.

[Angrychris]

booya

[visser300]

Quantum computers are likely to make conventional encryption methods very vulnerable. Even without that, brute force methods will (especially given Moore's law) become more and more effective.

The final chapter in Simon Singh's The Code Book summarised the issue rather well.

Anyway, this is important in terms of the actual physics, because it is yet another demonstration that quantum theory works.

Edit: ... and also, quantum encryption would ultimately eliminate the human element in encryption as well, because there would be no human requirement.

That's interesting...

[Jaketh]

Ill believe it when someone other then the Chinese does it

[Exarch]

Ill believe it when someone other then the Chinese does it

stop the presses!!

All those scientists who verified the data and the science journal editors who peer reviewed the study are now incorrect because you say so!

fear makes people do silly things, it appears.

anyway, secure quantum communications is already being applied:

Xinhua taps quantum communication for financial information security
English.news.cn 2012-02-21 23:47:19


Chinese State Councilor Liu Yandong (C front), Xinhua News Agency President Li Congjun (R front) and Chinese Academy of Science President Bai Chunli attend the launching ceremony of the quantum communication-based transmission network of financial information in Beijing, China, Feb. 21, 2012. The transmission network was built by Xinhua News Agency and University of Science and Technology of China. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)
BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- China's Xinhua News Agency on Tuesday launched a new global network dedicated to the secure and efficient transmission of financial information based on quantum communication technology.

The network, jointly developed by Xinhua and the Anhui-based University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), was inaugurated at the Beijing-based Financial Information Exchange, a financial service platform owned by Xinhua.

Quantum communication is a new type of communication based on the quantum properties of particles such as photons. It has become a new research field in quantum physics and information theory studies in recent years.

Experts say conventional technology, such as wireless networking, faces more difficulties in guaranteeing information security in the future.

Core financial information requires extremely high security during transmission, storage, and processing. Therefore, the application of secure and efficient quantum communication will prove of strategic importance and enormous economic value.

Xinhua and the USTC have been researching possible applications for quantum communication in financial information security since the first half of 2011, a statement from the Financial Information Exchange said.

As of the end of November 2011, the two sides successfully built the world's first network based on quantum communication technology for application in the financial information industry, the statement said.

It said that the network is capable of supporting confidential audio-visual communication, real-time text transfers and the rapid transmission of data files.

The network's data transfer bandwidth can reach several hundreds of megabits, meeting requirements for most forms of encrypted communication, according to the statement.

The launch of the network has proved the practicality of quantum communication technology, the statement said, adding that the network is also significant for the demonstration, marketing and exploration of quantum communication standards, the statement said.

The Xinhua Financial Information Exchange, launched in late 2010, is an information-sharing platform supporting the financial and cultural sectors.

Source: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/ch..._131423541.htm

[alexanderswift]

So when do the new Quantum iPhones hit the market?

Edit: With the first network coming up so soon, I wonder if it'll become the standard for encrypted communications in the next few years.

[Adar]

My immediate response



But I definitely wouldn't be surprised if something come out of this within the next 5-50 years.

[mrmouth]

This was achieved in the late 90's in the US, and then most everyone stopped ceased this research, for obvious reasons. At least publicly.