"One year after the launch of Mozi, we have succeeded in taking three main steps toward the 'quantum internet'", Chinese scientists said.
Physicists claimed to have transferred quantum keys from the satellite to Earth at a distance of 1,200 kilometers (around 745 miles), connecting two different points on Earth at a similar distance, as well as preforming the first orbital teleportation experiments.
"Thanks to this, we have improved the quality of communication 20 times compared to fiber optic systems", added the scientists.
Message sending from Vienna to Beijing through space-ground integrated quantum network - Image by PAN Jianwei's team
The phenomenon of Quantum Entanglement plays a key role in the protection of quantum communication against espionage, as the laws of quantum mechanics prohibit the 'cloning' of the state of light particles.
Quantum entanglement was predicted in 1935 by Einstein, Podolsky and Rosen, in their formulation of the so called EPR paradox.
Quantum entanglement is a phenomenon which has no classical equivalent, in which the states of two or more objects must be described in a unique state involving all objects in the system, even if they are spatially separated. This leads to correlations between observable physical properties.
Chungli Bai, president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Anton Zeilinger, director of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, held the first session of an intercontinental quantum video conference, protected from 'hacking' by means of keys transmitted by satellite.
For this experiment, scientists combined the satellite channels of quantum communication with the existing terrestrial quantum network connecting Beijing, Shanghai and several other Chinese cities.
Illustration of the experimental set-up - Image by PAN Jianwei's team
A similar network was built between Vienna and the city of Graz, where there are quantum cosmic communication satellites.
"Private and secure communications are fundamental human needs." The statement read. "In particular, with the exponential growth of Internet use and E-commerce, it is of paramount importance to establish a secure network with global protection of data. [...] Traditional public cryptography usual relies on the perceived computational intractability of certain mathematical functions. [...] In contrast, quantum key distribution (QKD) uses individual light quanta (single photon) in quantum superposition states to guarantee unconditional security between distant parties."
These networks and the Mozi helped establish a connection between Beijing and Vienna, where the heads of the Academies work.
The Chinese Press added that Chinese scientists are planning to conduct similar experiments with the participation of colleagues from Russia, Singapore, Italy and Germany.
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SOURCE: Chinese Academy of Sciences
WRITTEN BY Nesta - EDITED BY Eaglesg
