Chinese satellite makes breakthrough in quantum communication
For the first time, a space-based device has successfully distributed a pair of entangled photons to two stations on land
China has carried out the first quantum entanglement from space, according to the team behind the project, in what promises to be a significant step towards a new era of “hack-proof” communication.
The nation’s Micius satellite achieved quantum entanglement between two scientific facilities 1,200km apart on the Tibetan Plateau, according to a paper published in Science magazine on Thursday.
Entanglement refers to a feature of quantum physics whereby two particles separated by a distance are mysteriously linked in existence, so that if the status of one is measured or disturbed, the other changes immediately.
Led by Pan Jianwei, a quantum physicist at the University of Science and Technology of China, the team generated a pair of entangled photons on Micius and distributed one to a receiving station in Delingha and the other to a station in Lijiang.
One challenge, among many, was to make sure the single photons from the rapidly moving satellite hit a one-metre target at a telescope on the ground.