Quantum teleportation is a demonstration of what Albert Einstein famously called “spooky action at a distance”—also known as quantum entanglement. In entanglement—one of the most basic of concepts of quantum physics—the properties of one particle affect the properties of another particle, even when the particles are separated by a large distance. Quantum teleportation involves two distant, entangled particles in which the state of a third particle instantly ‘teleports’ its state to the two entangled particles. So knowing the state of one particle will automatically tell you the state of the other as well.
Last year scientists confirmed, with an experiment, that information could be passed between photons on computer chips even when the photons were not physically linked. Photons are primarily electromagnetic energy that carries light and has no resting mass – unpolarised photons spin in all directions at the same time. Now, according to new research from the University of Rochester and Purdue University, teleportation may also be possible between electrons, which interact with each other more readily.
Quantum teleportation is an important means for transmitting information instead of matter in quantum computing, which uses qubits. Normal computers either use bits of 1s or 0s at a time, while qubits can be both 1 and 0 at the same time. Scientists have recently demonstrated quantum teleportation by using electromagnetic photons to create remotely entangled pairs of qubits. Qubits made from individual electrons, however, are also promising for transmitting information in semiconductors. Creating entangled pairs of electron qubits that span long distances, which is required for teleportation, has proved challenging, though: while photons naturally propagate over long distances, electrons usually are confined to one place.
Presently, scientists have managed to teleport various electrons, photons, and even entire molecules dozens of miles.
Writer: Ariya Gupta
3/07/2020
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