Quantum teleportation is not fiction anymore, a team for the University of Oxford showed that is it possible to move information from a point to another one in a practically immediate way using quantum entanglement. The study appeared in Nature scientific journal, and describe an experiment where they send the results from a quantum algorithm executed in a quantum processor to another processor, with our cables or classic signals. In other words, information transmission was achieved based on quantum physics and quantum mechanics phenomena, not because of Wi-Fi or regular grids.
Is important to make clear that they are not “Teleporting” people or objects (sadly for me), just data: but since this is a first step, is actually huge.
In the world of science and technology, the objective and main idea is that if you prepare two quantum systems “connected” in a special way, what happens is that whatever happens in one, can be reflected to the other one immediately without common messages being send throughout space.
How quantum teleportation works
Let’s put un example: imagine two guitars, each one on a different room; there’s no cables between the two of them. However, the you touch a cord on the first guitar, the equivalent cord in the second guitar vibrates as if it knows what happened in the other room. Quantum entanglement works like this; is a correlation so deep in fact, that two systems can behave as if they are one, even if they are separate.
In the experiment, a quantum algorithm is executed on a quantum processor and, thanks to that quantum correlation, that same effect appears on another target processor. That’s what scientists call “quantum mechanics.” The quantum superposition (possibility in which one particle can be in many places at the time) and the intertwining, are the pieces that allow that “jump” of information without a classic or visible canal.
For now, this is not enough to send materia or sending you to your work office just by thinking about it, but is information transmission. And it shows that two machines can work together instantly, which is something that was only seen in theories before.
What this new discovery brings to science
This study from the University of Oxford, helps developing quantum computing: if two equipment can coordinate trhough quantum communication, they could also resolve calculations that a device by itself cannot.
The study has it limits, and cannot promise to make people disappear from one point and appear at another, or make objects cross cities in seconds. It’s only about data for the moment: passing from one quantum state to another thanks to entanglement and physics.
All new technology starts with controlled demonstrations, and in this case, to be able to achieve information transmission between quantum processors, without direct classic links, is already a super huge milestone. One door has been opened, but there is still a whole bridge to cross over… however, it won’t hurt anyone to star imagining quantum networks where nodes share results without waiting.
A real advance, no exaggeration
The quantum teleportation carried out in the study published on Nature (scientific journal), does not move things, it moves information; and it does it using quantum mechanics that doesn’t look to our daily lives.
Quantum computing suggests future connexions and collaborator between machines that today don’t exist. Even tough, each solid demonstration teaches us more about quantum physics, quantum superposition and information transmission. And every little steps, pushes the limits from science and technology towards ideas that until not long ago, we only though possible in movies.
I know… teleportation is not possible for humans or objects, but I will keep my hopes that it will be possible someday.