-Source-The Chicago Tribune-
Researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are joining Chicago-area scientists in creating a network that could ultimately pave the way for communication that can’t be hacked. The effort is part of a push from national labs and universities in the state to establish Chicago as a leader in an emerging field of physics and engineering called quantum technology.
Quantum research involves studying matter and energy at the smallest possible scale. Experts say advances in the field could have far reaching implications, from eliminating cybersecurity risks to expediting pharmaceutical discoveries. The field has been gaining attention from tech giants and the federal government, but so far, most of the breakthroughs in quantum science have occurred in the lab.
That’s where this project from Chicago-area scientists is attempting to make progress.
The scientists plan to use a 30-mile long, unused network of high-speed optical fiber that stretches between Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia. Particles of light will travel back and forth on the underground fiber between objects at each lab. That connection — called entanglement — allows communication between the two objects without moving them. Imagine a magnet at Argonne pointing in a certain direction, said David Awschalom, the University of Chicago professor and Argonne scientist leading the project. The network could be used to teleport information about which direction the magnet is pointing to Fermilab.
“(It) is called teleporting information because we move the information, not the object itself,” Awschalom said.
Here’s the kicker: If someone looked at — or hacked — the information being communicated, the information would change or be destroyed.
The project is being conducted by the Chicago Quantum Exchange, which was launched last year by the University of Chicago, Argonne and Fermilab. U. of I. announced Tuesday that it is joining the effort. Read more
Comments