The speed of light is a concept that intrigues scientists, but it’s just as absolute as black holes. For light to travel from point A to point B, it moves around 300,000 kilometers per second, and this is just for humans to be able to see something that happened millions of years ago in the universe, across galaxies. But, what if we can send a beam of light across the Milky Way and reach other borders? Scientists put the test to the challenge, and the results opened a new discussion about how far it can go without a “break.”
Scientists have successfully teleported light for the first time
Light is not just born, it’s created from atomic reactions. After the electrons gain energy, they move to a higher energy level “section” inside the atom, but the amount of power the electron holds is not sustainable, so when it collapses, it releases energy as a photon. The photon travels through space as light, carrying a specific amount of energy responsible for color or type.
The electrons bounce back and forth between energy levels, and that’s why we can see light – because the atoms are constantly exploding and gaining power again. Scientists have studied this phenomenon for decades, analyzing the behavior of photons, electrons, and other particles that make up the universe. Meanwhile, engineers have been working outside the study room and recently made a major discovery about photons.
Researchers from the University of Tennessee, EPB of Chattanooga, and the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Lab managed to maintain a quantum entanglement between pairs of photons for over 30 uninterrupted hours. However, in order to make this achievement even more impressive and have real-world applications, the scientists used an optic fiber network.
What makes this discovery so impactful?
A quantum entanglement is a connection between two or more particles. This means that whatever happens to one, it instantly matches the other, no matter how far apart they are – Einstein referred to this as “spooky action at a distance” because nothing behaves like this in nature. However, the connection between two photons can be fragile, and it can be broken.
The researchers used an optic fiber cable in order to translate this reaction to the real world. These thin glass cables are built to carry photons, so if one day scientists decide to create a quantum signal, they can use the infrastructure that already exists, and the 30-hour experiment duration is a milestone for future inventions.
The photons weren’t too far away from each other
To maintain the stability of the signal, the scientists used a system that automatically adjusts the way photons are spinning as they travel. The technique, called automatic polarization compensation (APC), helps correct any shifts in direction that might happen along the way, reinforcing the connection of the photons in the quantum entanglement by minimizing the disruptions caused by the environment that might interfere with the signal. The uninterrupted signal shared between the three institutes – all located in Chattanooga, Tennessee – traveled only about half a mile.
Future implications of sending signals across the galaxy
A stable quantum connection between photons — and the researchers’ ability to bring it into the real world — could lay the foundation for a future where information travels faster and farther than anything we’ve seen before. While we’d still rely on the speed of light to send a message or beam across space, quantum entanglement could allow the receiving side to get the signal instantly, without waiting millions of years for it to arrive. How long two photons can still maintain the quantum connection is next for the scientists.