Unhackable Quantum Internet Will No Longer Be An Impossible Dream

Anil - Mar 26, 2020

We're gonna have a quantum-based hacker-proof Internet connection!

A quantum Internet is believed to be able to send unhackable messages and enhance GPS accuracy, which is very useful for many cases. For over 20 years, researchers around the world have been carrying out tons of experiments to realize the dream of a quantum network, and their biggest hindrance has been sending quantum signals through long distances.

internet 1 — A team of developers from MIT and Harvard wants to make that dream come true.

Fortunately, a team of developers from MIT and Harvard University has discovered the link that was published in Nature on Monday to make that dream come true.

The team’s method is a breakthrough compared to an outdated idea of a repeater, which allows long-distance communication by correcting and compensating for signal loss.

Specifically, a prototype quantum node has been invented on the purpose of catching, storing, and entangling bits of quantum information. According to Mikhail Lukin from Harvard, this method can extend the current longest range of quantum networks, therefore enable a diverse pool of new applications that can not be created with the same old technologies.

Although a huge challenge which is quantum communication’s photon loss over long distances still remains, scientists have been working hard to improve quantum computing on a large scale and to create a system that can catch and process quantum information smoothly.

They experimented on a prefabricated diamond cavity which can be integrated into a color center with the aim of forcing the photons to be confined and to interact with it.

Successfully, their device can store quantum information in milliseconds, which provides enough time to transport information across thousands of kilometers. Additionally, Bart Machielse from Harvard revealed that this newly-developed tech combined the three most important elements of a quantum repeater, which are a long memory, the effectiveness of catching information off photons, and the local quantum information process.