So far researchers have only been able to control a handful of qubits — the basic units of information in a quantum computer. A new approach could help them control millions at a time.
Entangled photons have been used for the first time to encode information in a hologram, which could lead to improved medical diagnosis and speed up the advance of quantum technologies.
Chien-Shiung Wu’s experiments were instrumental in supporting some of the biggest 20th-century theories in physics.
Bettmann via Getty Images
Experiment produces thousands of entangled atoms, raising hopes that we can soon create real quantum computers.
An illustration of the two 20-micrometre-wide vibrating drumheads, each composed of trillions of atoms, in an entangled quantum state of motion.
Petja Hyttinen and Olli Hanhirova, ARKH Architects Ltd.
We usually think of quantum entanglement in the realm of atomic systems, but now it’s been scaled up to relatively massive objects. This opens the door to new kinds of technology.
Rey, played by Daisy Ridley, trains in the ways of the Force in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.(Handout)
As companies make quantum computers available through their cloud services, take a look at what it means for computing to move beyond classical mechanics and into quantum physics.
When black holes collide, gravitational waves are created in space itself (image is a computer simulation).
The SXS (Simulating eXtreme Spacetimes) Project
Einstein called entanglement “spooky action at a distance”. But now it’s been used to design an incredibly sensitive detection method for gravitational waves.
As hackers get more sophisticated in their cyber crime efforts we need to look to new technology to make our systems more secure, and potentially unhackable. So how can quantum physics help?
Harnessing the quantum property of light takes security to the next level.
Boris Skoric
Decades of data security research have brought us highly reliable, standardized tools for common tasks such as digital signatures and encryption. But hackers are constantly working to crack data security…
Let’s take a look back through the past 12 months of quantum physics research.
sharyn morrow/Flickr
The past year has provided some of the most interesting developments in quantum mechanics to date. The field is more than 100 years old and has been tested to unimaginable precision, yet some of its most…
Darth Vader’s stormtroopers haven’t figured it out.
rpenalozan
There is an up-and-coming set of technologies that uses the strange properties of atomic particles predicted by the theory of quantum mechanics, which is the physics of the very small stuff. This technology…