Scientists have created the world’s first multi-node quantum network, which means we are one step closer to a quantum Internet. Researchers at the QuTech Research Center in the Netherlands have created this system. It consists of three quantum nodes that are entangled by the laws of quantum mechanics that govern subatomic particles. This is the first time that more than two quantum bits have been connected together as nodes.
The researchers expect the first quantum network to break through the vast array of computing applications that existing conventional devices cannot perform, such as faster calculations and more advanced cryptography. says Matteo Pompili, a member of the QuTech research team, “This system will allow us to connect quantum computers and increase computing power, creating networks that cannot be hacked .” There are many more applications in the future that we can’t really foresee.
As with traditional computers, bits are the basic unit of digital information, and quantum bits are the basic unit of quantum information. Like a bit, a quantum bit can be a 1 or a 0, representing two possible positions in a system of two states. And this is at the same time the end of the similarities. Due to the singular laws of the quantum world, a quantum bit can exist as an iterative sum of 1 and 0 states until the moment it is measured, at which time it will randomly collapse to 1 or 0. This property is key to the power of quantum computing, as it allows a single quantum bit to perform multiple calculations at the same time.
The biggest challenge in connecting these quantum bits into a quantum network is the process of establishing and maintaining quantum entanglement, or what Albert Einstein called “hyper-spacing”. This refers to the fact that when two quantum bits are in a coupling, their properties are linked together so that any change in one particle causes a change in the other, even if they are far apart.
There are many ways in which quantum nodes can be entangled. One common method is to entangle the stationary quanta (the nodes that make up the network) with photons (or light particles) before firing them at each other. When they meet, these two photons also become entangled, thus entangling the quantum bits together. This binds together two stationary nodes separated by a certain distance. Any change in one node is reflected by an instantaneous change in the other node.
However, maintaining the entangled state is a difficult task, especially because entangled systems are always at risk of interacting with the outside world and being disrupted by the process of “incoherence”.
To solve this problem, the team created a network with three nodes in which photons essentially “pass” entanglement from a quantum bit in one of the external nodes to a quantum bit in the intermediate node. The intermediate node has two quantum bits, one to acquire the entangled state and the other to store the entangled state.
Once the entanglement between an external node and the intermediate node is stored, the intermediate node uses its spare quantum bits to entangle the other external node. After this is done, the intermediate node entangles its two quantum bits together, causing the quantum bits of the external node to become entangled.
The three-node system is useful because storing quantum bits allows researchers to build entanglement node by node throughout the network, rather than completing this requirement all at once. Once completed, the information can be transmitted across the network.
The researchers’ next step will be to try this information transfer while improving the basic components of the network’s computing power so that they can work like a regular computer network.
They also want to see if their system will allow them to create entanglement between Delft and The Hague, two cities about 6 miles (10 kilometers) apart.” Right now, all of our nodes are within 10 to 20 meters (32 to 66 feet) of each other,” Pompili said.
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