Scientists make first 'on demand' entanglement link

[GRex2595]

https://m.phys.org/news/2018-06-scientists-demand-entanglement-link.html

 

"By exploiting the power of quantum entanglement, it is theoretically possible to build a quantum internet invulnerable to eavesdropping."

 

With quantum entanglement, we would be able to transfer data faster than light (instantaneously) over extreme distances (theoretically any distance) in a way where it only exists in two places simultaneously (not transfered through a medium between two places).  This new development would allow us to create a network on demand using quantum entanglement (a quantum network).  A quantum network could, theoretically, transfer data any distance instantly in a way that cannot be eavesdropped on. Now if only we could get fiber to every internet user...

 

**Edit**

Forgot the quote because I didn't correctly read the forum rules about a quote from the article

[Wh0_Am_1]

15 minutes ago, GRex2595 said:

https://m.phys.org/news/2018-06-scientists-demand-entanglement-link.html

 

With quantum entanglement, we would be able to transfer data faster than light (instantaneously) over extreme distances (theoretically any distance) in a way where it only exists in two places simultaneously (not transfered through a medium between two places).  This new development would allow us to create a network on demand using quantum entanglement (a quantum network).  A quantum network could, theoretically, transfer data any distance instantly in a way that cannot be eavesdropped on. Now if only we could get fiber to every internet user...

Finally, they have been working on this for the better part of a decade.

[mr moose]

I thought using entanglement to send actual data was impossible?  It was barely believable when they created a security key using entanglement a year or two back (the arguments and confusion in the thread was perplexing at best).

 

[AskTJ]

Hate to be that guy, but a lot of people will be triggered and will post the thread format. You need a source, quote from the article and your own comment on it.

 

 

[Master Disaster]

54 minutes ago, VegetableStu said:

do whatever particles need to be close by to be entangled? and how far can both be apart for how long a time?

 

i want muh instellar communication :c

Apparently not, my understanding is once they're entangled they can be as far apart as possible and will remain entangled forever.

 

45 minutes ago, mr moose said:

I thought using entanglement to send actual data was impossible?  It was barely believable when they created a security key using entanglement a year or two back (the arguments and confusion in the thread was perplexing at best).

 

I don't think it's impossible, just incredibly complicated. Imaging trying to send even a simple Word document over a data line that has only one particle for input and output. I don't think it's something we're even close to achieving.

[Froody129]

So I won't be headshotted when I'm around the corner anymore?  

[Beskamir]

1 hour ago, VegetableStu said:

do whatever particles need to be close by to be entangled? and how far can both be apart for how long a time?

 

i want muh instellar communication :c

Unfortunately that doesn't seem to be possible

 

[Bananasplit_00]

You can't use quantum entanglement for faster than light communication afaik. When you force one of the entangled parts the other one stays in the superstate I think

[ScratchCat]

But can it download Crysis? /s

 

[Sauron]

8 hours ago, VegetableStu said:

do whatever particles need to be close by to be entangled? and how far can both be apart for how long a time?

 

i want muh instellar communication :c

This was done at a distance of about 2 metres.

 

@GRex2595 hold your horses, the connection needs to be established and maintained through photons, so this is only "faster than light" (it probably isn't and will never be as @Bananasplit_00 pointed out) after it has been established. If you're trying to create a connection between Earth and a planet 5000LY away, in the absolute best case scenario you'll have a latency of 5000 years before you can begin communicating anything. This could be mitigated with intermediate nodes but at that point the infrastructure becomes a far greater challenge than the entanglement itself - aside from the obvious question of "how the hell are we going to get over there in the first place?".

[Deus Voltage]

14 minutes ago, Sauron said:

This was done at a distance of about 2 metres.

 

@GRex2595 hold your horses, the connection needs to be established and maintained through photons, so this is only "faster than light" (it probably isn't and will never be as @Bananasplit_00 pointed out) after it has been established. If you're trying to create a connection between Earth and a planet 5000LY away, in the absolute best case scenario you'll have a latency of 5000 years before you can begin communicating anything. This could be mitigated with intermediate nodes but at that point the infrastructure becomes a far greater challenge than the entanglement itself - aside from the obvious question of "how the hell are we going to get over there in the first place?".

I am not sure whether I have seen this in a documentary or Scishow/ PBS, but aren't entangled atoms supposed to have a propriety that allows them to instantly affect one another if one is tampered with? That would in theory suggest instant communication no matter the distance, since in the quantum world, not even light speed makes sense.

 

Edit; I also remember hearing Richard Feynman saying "electrons act like waves, no they don't exactly. They act like particles, no they don't exactly". 

[Sauron]

1 minute ago, Deus Voltage said:

I am not sure whether I have seen this in a documentary or Scishow/ PBS, but aren't entangled atoms supposed to have a propriety that allows them to instantly affect one another if one is tampered with? That would in theory suggest instant communication no matter the distance, since in the quantum world, not even light speed makes sense.

Sadly my knowledge of quantum physics is very limited, I couldn't tell you for sure. The thing is, if the connection is lost after use then the bandwidth is still limited by how quickly you can reestablish it - but again, I'm not sure that is the case.

[Deus Voltage]

1 minute ago, Sauron said:

Sadly my knowledge of quantum physics is very limited, I couldn't tell you for sure. The thing is, if the connection is lost after use then the bandwidth is still limited by how quickly you can reestablish it - but again, I'm not sure that is the case.

I am not at all sure either. I wish we had a quantum physicist/PhD or Masters candidate in this forum, that'd be great.

[cj09beira]

11 minutes ago, Deus Voltage said:

I am not sure whether I have seen this in a documentary or Scishow/ PBS, but aren't entangled atoms supposed to have a propriety that allows them to instantly affect one another if one is tampered with? That would in theory suggest instant communication no matter the distance, since in the quantum world, not even light speed makes sense.

 

Edit; I also remember hearing Richard Feynman saying "electrons act like waves, no they don't exactly. They act like particles, no they don't exactly". 

part of the problem is detecting the changes, as the forces being measured are so small that the measurement itself can affect the result because to measure is to interact with the particle

 

according to another way of interpreting quantum physics the reason that happens is because there is a wave guiding the particle, which is why the interference pattern happens, its not that the particle is in both places its taht the wave guiding the particle changes and thus the path the particle will take also changes

[Deus Voltage]

2 minutes ago, cj09beira said:

part of the problem is detecting the changes, as the forces being measured are so small that the measurement itself can affect the result because to measure is to interact with the particle

 

according to another way of interpreting quantum physics the reason that happens is because there is a wave guiding the particle, which is why the interference pattern happens, its not that the particle is in both places its taht the wave guiding the particle changes and thus the path the particle will take also changes

Ah yes, I remember that one as well, observation makes things a lot trickier. Quantum physics is as confusing as it is fascinating.

[mynameisjuan]

Still call BS on these experiments. How can one prove that that single proton was from the originating point?

[yadayadaxx]

2 hours ago, Sauron said:

This was done at a distance of about 2 metres.

 

@GRex2595 hold your horses, the connection needs to be established and maintained through photons, so this is only "faster than light" (it probably isn't and will never be as @Bananasplit_00 pointed out) after it has been established. If you're trying to create a connection between Earth and a planet 5000LY away, in the absolute best case scenario you'll have a latency of 5000 years before you can begin communicating anything. This could be mitigated with intermediate nodes but at that point the infrastructure becomes a far greater challenge than the entanglement itself - aside from the obvious question of "how the hell are we going to get over there in the first place?".

No latency because in the quantum world one particle can exsit in 2 places at once hence when they are entangled if one of the photons is affected and given the data you want to transfer, the other one will instantaneously have the data as well since it is a mirror image of that photo no matter how far the distance (though this is all theoretically and is the way I understand it)

[Sauron]

16 minutes ago, yadayadaxx said:

No latency because in the quantum world one particle can exsit in 2 places at once hence when they are entangled if one of the photons is affected and given the data you want to transfer, the other one will instantaneously have the data as well since it is a mirror image of that photo no matter how far the distance (though this is all theoretically and is the way I understand it)

Even if that is correct, first you need to ESTABLISH the entanglement, and that is done through photons (at least according to the article). Photons travel at the speed of light or slower. Therefore there is latency when the connection is first established if nothing else.

 

I would also be weary of "explanations" that claim things exist in two places at once - I believe they are oversemplifications and don't really reflect reality.

[HarryNyquist]

7 minutes ago, Sauron said:

I believe they are oversemplifications and don't really reflect reality.

Oh, vast, vast oversimplifications.

 

News articles have been getting this wrong practically since the concept was first theorized. Despite the cool name, it still doesn't allow faster-than-light communication.

 

Quote

This “spooky action at a distance,” as Einstein called it, might seem to require transmission of information — in this case, information about what measurement was performed — at a rate faster than the speed of light.

But does it? Until I know the result you obtained, I don’t know what to expect. I gain useful information when I learn the result you’ve measured, not at the moment you measure it. And any message revealing the result you measured must be transmitted in some concrete physical way, slower (presumably) than the speed of light.

Source

 

[GRex2595]

6 hours ago, Sauron said:

This was done at a distance of about 2 metres.

 

@GRex2595 hold your horses, the connection needs to be established and maintained through photons, so this is only "faster than light" (it probably isn't and will never be as @Bananasplit_00 pointed out) after it has been established. If you're trying to create a connection between Earth and a planet 5000LY away, in the absolute best case scenario you'll have a latency of 5000 years before you can begin communicating anything. This could be mitigated with intermediate nodes but at that point the infrastructure becomes a far greater challenge than the entanglement itself - aside from the obvious question of "how the hell are we going to get over there in the first place?".

"In 2015, Ronald Hanson's research group was the first to generate long-lived quantum entanglement over a long distance (1.3 kilometres),..."

 

I get that this wasn't exactly an impressive distance and that currently it would be impossible to even communicate further than next door (assuming that quantum entanglement allows for communication, as some on here suggest otherwise).  I don't even expect this to go very far for years, but the fact that we can do it at all is really cool to me.  With further developments, we could see some very interesting stuff in the quantum space.

[Sauron]

12 minutes ago, GRex2595 said:

"In 2015, Ronald Hanson's research group was the first to generate long-lived quantum entanglement over a long distance (1.3 kilometres),..."

 

I get that this wasn't exactly an impressive distance and that currently it would be impossible to even communicate further than next door (assuming that quantum entanglement allows for communication, as some on here suggest otherwise).  I don't even expect this to go very far for years, but the fact that we can do it at all is really cool to me.  With further developments, we could see some very interesting stuff in the quantum space.

Yeah, sure, I was just contesting some of your statements in the OP.

[vanished]

When the first stories about quantum entanglement came out a while back, I and several others immediately jumped to the idea of data transmission, possibly between Earth and Mars one day, or even just on Earth for the purpose of eliminating latency.  In one story (about a Chinese satellite iirc), there were a number of people who popped in to claim that actually it can't be done, but now it's looking closer than ever, so if you still think that I'd advise trying to contact the professor working on this since I'd imagine he understands what is and is not possible fairly well.

[2FA]

On 6/14/2018 at 4:31 PM, Ryan_Vickers said:

When the first stories about quantum entanglement came out a while back, I and several others immediately jumped to the idea of data transmission, possibly between Earth and Mars one day, or even just on Earth for the purpose of eliminating latency.  In one story (about a Chinese satellite iirc), there were a number of people who popped in to claim that actually it can't be done, but now it's looking closer than ever, so if you still think that I'd advise trying to contact the professor working on this since I'd imagine he understands what is and is not possible fairly well.

I've posted this previously in a thread a while back, might be the same one you're referencing, but AT&T has been putting several hundred million dollars into researching on-demand quantum entanglement. As they are one of the largest telecoms in the world, it makes sense for them to develop this as it would effectively allow them to have a communication network with a fraction of the existing infrastructure.

 

Also, Clarke's three laws:

1. When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.
2. The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.
3. Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.