Engineers Achieve Quantum Teleportation Over Active Internet Cables 41
Researchers at Northwestern University have successfully achieved quantum teleportation over a standard fiber optic cable carrying regular internet traffic, demonstrating that quantum and classical communication can coexist on existing infrastructure. The research has been published in the journal Optica. TechSpot reports: Nobody thought it would be possible to achieve this, according to Professor Prem Kumar, who led the study. "Our work shows a path towards next-generation quantum and classical networks sharing a unified fiber optic infrastructure. Basically, it opens the door to pushing quantum communications to the next level." "By performing a destructive measurement on two photons -- one carrying a quantum state and one entangled with another photon -- the quantum state is transferred onto the remaining photon, which can be very far away," said Jordan Thomas, a Ph.D. candidate in Kumar's laboratory and the paper's first author. "The photon itself does not have to be sent over long distances, but its state still ends up encoded onto the distant photon."
Prior to this study, many researchers were skeptical about the feasibility of quantum teleportation in cables carrying classic communications. The concern was that the entangled photons would be overwhelmed by the millions of other light particles present in the fiber optic cables. However, Kumar and his team were able to devise a solution. Through extensive studies of light scattering within fiber optic cables, the researchers identified a less crowded wavelength of light to place their photons. They also implemented special filters to reduce noise from regular Internet traffic. Kumar explained that he and his team conducted a meticulous analysis of light scattering patterns and strategically positioned their photons at a critical point where the scattering effect was minimized.
To validate their method, the team set up a 30-kilometer-long (18.6 miles) fiber optic cable with a photon at each end. They simultaneously transmitted quantum information and high-speed Internet traffic through the cable. The quality of the quantum information was measured at the receiving end while executing the teleportation protocol by making quantum measurements at the mid-point. The results showed that the quantum information was successfully transmitted, even in the presence of busy internet traffic.
Prior to this study, many researchers were skeptical about the feasibility of quantum teleportation in cables carrying classic communications. The concern was that the entangled photons would be overwhelmed by the millions of other light particles present in the fiber optic cables. However, Kumar and his team were able to devise a solution. Through extensive studies of light scattering within fiber optic cables, the researchers identified a less crowded wavelength of light to place their photons. They also implemented special filters to reduce noise from regular Internet traffic. Kumar explained that he and his team conducted a meticulous analysis of light scattering patterns and strategically positioned their photons at a critical point where the scattering effect was minimized.
To validate their method, the team set up a 30-kilometer-long (18.6 miles) fiber optic cable with a photon at each end. They simultaneously transmitted quantum information and high-speed Internet traffic through the cable. The quality of the quantum information was measured at the receiving end while executing the teleportation protocol by making quantum measurements at the mid-point. The results showed that the quantum information was successfully transmitted, even in the presence of busy internet traffic.
Teleportation? (Score:3)
I'm pretty sure that word means something else...
And, I'm not really interested enough to either RTFA or RTFS
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Re:Teleportation? (Score:5, Interesting)
from tfa: quantum teleportation does not require the physical transmission of particles
But they need a cable to: transmitted quantum information and high-speed Internet traffic through the cable
The whole problem with quantum entanglement is that it is one-read and done. It's like sending an envelope with a pass-code that self destructs upon reading it. You can only use it once. It's ok for key sharing (like a password) but there is no repetitive random data transfer. You can't communicate an active data stream which is what all those seeking more funding want you to think.
Re:Teleportation? (Score:5, Informative)
Re: Teleportation? (Score:5, Informative)
Quantum teleportation, another application of entanglement, still requires physically distributing entangled particles to the communicating parties. The quantum state of one system is "transferred," but the particles themselves must have been shared beforehand.
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For the clueless among us is there any benefit to this? If the photons need to be sent then you're limited to light speed travel. If the quantum information is destroyed when it's observed (is it?) then doesn't that photon cease being useful after a single bit is transferred? Is there a practical benefit here, or is my (lack of) understanding the problem?
Re: Teleportation? (Score:2)
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What quantity of quantum 'information' can be observed per photon?
Does the photon cease to be useful after the observation, where transferring more quantum information would require one or more additional entangled photons?
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A lot of research is going into (and a lot of researcher careers are being devoted to) quantum right now because, if it pays off, it'll fundamentally change a wide range of computing and engineering disciplines. However you really can't ignore that if - it's not a given that it's going to pan out at all. But the payout, if successful, will be huge.
Re: Teleportation? (Score:2)
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It's more likely beyond the capacity of a journalist to understand, which is why they can't explain it in a way that the average person can understand. This [wikipedia.org] is a better explanation.
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I'm using AI to design a machine that can allow me to make a Quantum Leap. We'll call it a Quantum Accelerator. Then when I step into it, I can get hopelessly lost, leaping through other peoples lives, guided only by my quantum computer known as Ziggy. Eventually, I leap into some guy called Johnathan Archer and fight the Suliban in a temporal cold war, and then the Xindi. Then the temporal cold war suddenly gets redacted in the Next Generation. Hold your applause, I'm here all week.
Re: Teleportation? (Score:2)
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Re: Teleportation? (Score:2)
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whoever coined the teleportation description is either a marketing genius or a clever scam artist - since nothing is teleported, those entangled particles have to be delivered first to the destination and this always takes some measurement of time.
-dons tinfoil hat
teleport
verb
(especially in science fiction) transport or be transported across space and distance instantly.
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https://phys.org/news/2021-01-... [phys.org]
But it is real. It does work.
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"Now" as in, for over a century?
There's legitimate (not vaporware) uses for sticking "quantum" in front of certain things. Generally, it means taking advantage of the weirdness that arises from quantum mechanics. In particular, entanglement [wikipedia.org] and superposition [wikipedia.org]. Wikipedia's explanations are rather dense, but you have the entire Internet at your disposal: I suggest you brush up on it.
In the case of TFA, they're talking about getting a couple of photons into
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From what I've seen, I think a difference between quantum and AI (or at least, LLM) is that quantum is based on theory. Nuclear weapons and space travel probably seemed impossible when they were just theory. But there is no theory to suggest that LLM will pay off as people expect,
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[shrug] Public forum on the Internet, go ahead and use (with attribution).
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That's not quite correct about quantum computing. I believe that the relaxation approach to quantum computing has actual uses. Of course, it's not a generally applicable approach, and only works for a specific class of problems (that, IIUC, don't include factoring numbers). But there are special cases where it's useful even at the added expense. (Well, at least some companies seem to purchase D-Wave quantum computers.)
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If it requires cables, is it really quantum teleportation?
I'm pretty sure that word means something else...
And, I'm not really interested enough to either RTFA or RTFS
Quantum teleportation does not mean what you seem to think it means. It is not about transmitting physical objects, but rather transferring quantum states using entanglement and classical communication. The cables in this experiment are necessary to carry both the classical information required for the process and the photons involved in generating and measuring the entanglement.
In this context, the term "quantum teleportation" is precise and appropriate. The state is destroyed at one location and reconstru
"Teleportation" is a bit misleading (Score:2)
You don't teleport the particle , metaphorically you teleport the information .
Re: "Teleportation" is a bit misleading (Score:4, Informative)
So, information is not moved , thus the term teleportation is not accurate . It just sounds cool . Information be conveyed but nothing moves . Once you deliver the entangled photon, you don't need the fiber anymore.
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Re: "Teleportation" is a bit misleading (Score:2)
Cause you can't quantum teleport into a parked emergency vehicle.
Re: "Teleportation" is a bit misleading (Score:2)
In layman's terms it's like rubbing your nuts together real hard, then you separate them by annnnnny distance.
With lots of hand waving we say it's now one nut, bruised on a side. If we dissect it to observe the bruising pattern on the nut in one location, we instantly know the bruising pattern of the nut in the other location via *hand waving* _teleportation_ of the information.
The only practically useful feature of this protocol is when a nut has been transferred to the remote end we can be assured it has
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Teleportation is used as a metaphor, because no information is moved nor transmitted. The photon is in both places at the same time, so any change can be seen by both locations .
So, information is not moved , thus the term teleportation is not accurate . It just sounds cool . Information be conveyed but nothing moves . Once you deliver the entangled photon, you don't need the fiber anymore.
Your comments reflect a common misunderstanding of both metaphor and quantum mechanics. "Teleportation," in the context of quantum physics, is not merely a metaphor -- it is a technical term rooted in the precise mechanics of transferring quantum states. The term was first defined in a 1993 paper by Bennett et al., and it accurately describes the process of destroying a quantum state at one location and reconstructing it at another. This does not involve the particle itself being "in two places at once," n
researchers gotta research (Score:2)
Teleportation protocol? At what layer do they implement that?
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Teleportation protocol? At what layer do they implement that?
They'd have to invent Level 0 I guess.
Re: researchers gotta research (Score:2)
Re: researchers gotta research (Score:2)
Layer 12? Sounds like someone has no idea about the OSI standards, but hey, it's old technology, so knowledge of it is optional.
Active cables? (Score:2)
Weird terminology in the title. An "active cable" in my book is one that receives and re-transmits a signal.
Such a cable would break the quantum transmission properties (unless they would be made part of the scheme itself)
Some cables often called "active optical cables" have electric connectors but uses a fibre to send the signal. (i.e. transmitted and receiver are part of the cable). There exist such active cables for e.g. USB and HDMI for longer ranges.
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The world has more functions than it has words to describe something. Even Slashdot's darling open source struggles with the concept of free as in libre, or free as in beer. What does open mean? That I can see the source code, or that any hacker can get access to my system without a password?
Active fibre in this context means the opposite of dark fibre. i.e. they are in active use. Context is critical for the english language.