Quantum computing has rapidly evolved, with its potential applications across various fields. However, using quantum technology to teleport and store energy extracted from seemingly empty space was once a far-fetched concept. Recently, researchers at Purdue University under Professor Sabre Kais in the US have made this a reality.
While the idea was initially proposed over a decade ago, only now has it become feasible thanks to advances in quantum computing. Quantum entanglement is one of the most fascinating phenomena in the field of quantum mechanics. It describes how particles, once entangled, cannot be described separately, even when they are far apart. A change in the state of one particle instantly affects the other, no matter the distance. Building on this concept, in 2008, Masahiro Hotta, a researcher at Tohoku University in Japan, theorized that the flickers of quantum fields in space could be entangled to teleport energy. However, this idea remained largely theoretical for over a decade, as the technology to make it happen did not yet exist.
As quantum computing advanced, Hotta’s theory began to attract more attention. When researchers finally attempted to teleport energy, they succeeded but encountered a significant problem: the teleported energy was leaking into the environment and could not be stored. This limitation made it impractical for real-world use.
Enter Sabre Kais and his team from Purdue University. They found a solution to this problem by using qubits, the fundamental building blocks of quantum computers, to store the teleported energy. In their experiments, the team worked with qubits in their lowest energy state. Despite this low energy state, even the emptiest of spaces contains some residual energy due to quantum field fluctuations.
Here’s where quantum entanglement plays an important role. When two qubits are entangled and separated, any action affecting one qubit would immediately impact the other. For instance, if the energy state of the first qubit is measured and increased slightly, the change would also reflect in the entangled qubit. However, this change in energy wouldn’t be visible to an observer at the second qubit, but the energy can still be extracted.
As Professor Kais explained, “If the person making the measurement determined exactly how much extra energy the entangled qubits have, they would be able to extract this energy from the entangled qubit and bring the two qubits back to their lowest energy state.”
The research team tested this approach through simulations on a quantum computer, and the results were promising. Although one might argue that this is more of a simulation than a practical experiment, the team’s results represent the closest a simulation can come to a real experiment. The simulations used qubits to calculate whether they could effectively store energy, and the high level of agreement within the data suggests that this approach has real potential.
Looking ahead, Professor Kais and his team plan to apply this energy teleportation technique to real-world scenarios, particularly by using stored energy to drive chemical reactions.