After quantum computing, quantum internet is going to be the upcoming breakthrough. Scientists at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands have executed a successful experiment aimed at achieving efficiency in quantum technology. Through this breakthrough, information can be transferred from one point to another in a matter of nanoseconds. The basic phase of this technology was a hit in which scientists deployed a preliminary technological paradigm that consists of a central framework for sharing information through quantum bits of information. They have achieved the milestone of the exchange of data between two nodes that are not even connected to each other. However, this was not possible in previous research, but this time, the qubits made it workable.
This experiment envisaged three nodes anointed as Alice, Bob, and Charlie. Alice was connected to Bob, and Bob was in turn connected to Charlie, but there was no direct connection between Alice and Charlie. For the dissipation of information, Bob acted as the mediator between Alice and Charlie. It was seen that even though Alice and Charlie were not connected through a direct link, they still shared information with each other.
Ronald Hanson, from the Delft University of Technology, said after this experiment, “It’s really teleportation as in science-fiction movies.” The state, or information, really disappears on one side and appears on the other side, and because it’s not traveling the space in between, [the data] can also not get lost.” This shows that the qubits at each end of these nodes incorporate “memory” interfaces which can store information for a much longer period of time, and hence information can be easily restored.
This made scientists realize that now the phenomenon is suitable enough to apply to some complex connections to build a large network of quantum space, thereby acting as an information highway. Oliver Slattery and Yong-Su Kim wrote, “This achievement is not only a win for fundamental science but also represents an advance in the real-world problem solving required to move this fascinating quantum application to the next step.”
To expand the success of the quantum internet, new and more advanced interfaces are required to cover a global network. In compliance with this, Charles Adams at Durham University, UK said, “Trying these types of experiments on different platforms is very important.” We don’t know yet which technology is going to succeed—maybe it will be some kind of hybrid of different technologies.”
