According to a paper published in Science, researchers were able to spirit a single qubit across a 3-meter (10ft) gap by leveraging a phenomenon known as quantum entanglement.
"Entanglement is arguably the strangest and most intriguing consequence of the laws of quantum mechanics," said Professor Ronald Hanson, the project’s lead researcher. "When two particles become entangled, their identities merge: their collective state is precisely determined, but the individual identity of each of the particles has disappeared. The entangled particles behave as one, even when separated by a large distance."
If you’re a bit startled by the idea of quantum entanglement have no fear, you’re in good company. Even the esteemed Albert Einstein found the idea of quantum entanglement unsettling, stating that it was “spooky action at a distance.”
Using a pair of specially designed, diamond-embedded computer chips the TU Delft team encoded nitrogen atoms locked within the diamonds’ interior to have pre-selected spin characteristics. With those characteristics in place the team transmitted instructions for the nitrogen atoms to flip their spin. Once the transmission was initiated researchers saw an instantaneous swap of spin characteristics as the two sets of nitrogen atoms fell into sequence with one another and exchanged spin identities.
If successful the researchers may be well on their way to refining our understanding and “control” of quantum mechanics, while revolutionizing data transfer protocols. What’s more, they might prove that Einstein’s fear of quantum entanglement was nothing more than folly – and that’s not something that happens very often.
Image and Video Courtesy of TU Delft