Late last year, a memorable breakthrough announced, including the first case of long-range, high-fidelity quantum teleportation. It also quickly created a cryogenic quantum computer chip and a later hologram just after the use of quantum involved.
You could say that it has been quite a few months since the ultimate goal of Quantum Internet, which could change theoretically everything in terms of computing speed, privacy and efficiency. However, new research suggests that may be closer than we think. In a study conducted by two institutes in the Netherlands, scientists created the first quantum network by successfully connecting three devices using Quantum institutions.
The research could lay the groundwork for building a large-scale quantum network, which is the dream of many scientists in the field. Their work published in the journal Science. In an interview with Inverse, top author Ronald Hanson said, “This is the first time a network has been created from a quantum processor.”Over the past decade many platforms have displayed a single direct link between two processors, but no network has been achieved.”
A quantum computer differs from a traditional computer in a fundamental way: a traditional computer uses binary to process information, using two states of ‘on’ (1) or ‘off’ (0), adding quantum computers to a new and more interesting state. Common binary snippets of information, both ‘on’ and ‘off’ called bits, but quantum data is stored in quotes.
Adding just one additional state to the equation adds a wealth of new possibilities with large data flows. However, transferring quits is not an easy feat. To do this, scientists must use the concept of quantum involvement. Quantum Involvement, simply put, is a state of two or more particles that observe the state of one and provide information about the other – these particles are ‘involved’.
For example, if one particle is excited and is in the ‘on’ state, the other will note it and behave similarly. This is effective for faster data transmission because if two systems are involved, data can copy across and a network of systems can create. In this study, a network of three nodes established, affectionately named Alice, Charlie and Bob.
Using a highly complex system of photon detectors and beam dividers within each node, the researchers were able to display the remote clusters between the three nodes, creating a quantum network. The issue of interconnection between the two devices has shown in the past, but it marks the first case of three devices working as part of an interconnected network. This work has identified as an important milestone in that elusive dream of the Quantum Internet – however, it will probably not come soon. Quantum computing is still in its infancy and it requires a lot of electricity as well as a mess of wires that scaling a problem. This could be the internet revolution soon. This is a breakthrough.
