Posted on 08/19/2017 1:55:39 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Chinese quantum satellite sends 'unbreakable' code
BEIJING (Reuters) - China has sent an "unbreakable" code from a satellite to the Earth, marking the first time space-to-ground quantum key distribution technology has been realized, state media said on Thursday.
China launched the world's first quantum satellite last August, to help establish "hack proof" communications, a development the Pentagon has called a "notable advance".
The official Xinhua news agency said the latest experiment was published in the journal Nature on Thursday, where reviewers called it a "milestone".
The satellite sent quantum keys to ground stations in China between 645 km (400 miles) and 1,200 km (745 miles) away at a transmission rate up to 20 orders of magnitude more efficient than an optical fiber, Xinhua cited Pan Jianwei, lead scientist on the experiment from the state-run Chinese Academy of Sciences, as saying.
"That, for instance, can meet the demand of making an absolute safe phone call or transmitting a large amount of bank data," Pan said.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Believe me, I know this stuff is seriously mind-boggling.
You can develop a pair of particles that, no matter how far away they are from each other, always have a relationship in their quantum state. By reading one, you know what the quantum state is on the other.
If you store information by making changes in the quantum state of one of the particles, you immediately transmit that information to the other particle. And “they” are now very good at making changes in the quantum state of an electron in an isolated phosphorus atom on a sheet of silicon.
For several years now, they could capture a photon generated by such an electron and transmit it over fiber where they could “read” the photon and accurately describe the quantum state of the electron where it came from, i.e. capture data from it (up to 2 kilobits last I read). But there’s no way to do that with a satellite.
So, if the article is true, it means the Chinese are using quantum entanglement, which I knew some people were working on but I thought it would be a long, long time coming. Apparently not, and that means big things are going to happen sooner that expected.
For more reading, here’s the Wikipedia on quantum entanglement:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_entanglement
If they're using quantum entanglement, in theory, than distances don't matter as the two particles, now "entangled", act as one even when separated. If the Chinese worked this out, it would be hack-proof as there is nothing actually transmitted between the particles as they've now been "entangled" at a quantum, non-dimensional, level.
CORRECTION: EPS bypasses space-time and the data is transmitted instantly between entangled protons photons.
And by instant, you indeed mean instant!
There is zero signal delay. In theory, one could instantly communicate with, say, a rover of the surface of Mars. No waiting 10 minutes for a signal to travel across space in each direction.
You’re right. If they really have this technology, and I’ve read papers that it exists at least in the lab, then it is the biggest communication breakthrough in 50 years; maybe the biggest breakthrough since the invention of the telephone.
14-year old, scrawny boys are hereby challenged to break the code.
I like the way Einstein summed it up, “Spooky action at a distance.” Even he had trouble believing it at first.
It’s nearly impossible for the human mind to accept that this takes place instantly, across any distance, it makes no difference.
>img src=""<, where < right & left carets must be flipped to work right and the "link" inserted between the double quotes. There may be several failures before the concept sinks in.
...all in good humor... :)
If they can encrypt it, they will be able to break it. THAT would be a big deal.
Probably donated as a Loral Space kickback bonus by the Clintons.
“inscrutable.”
I think I dated her. She spelled it differently, though.
More accurately, the biggest communication breakthrough since Marconi(or Tesla, if you prefer). FTL comms.
The purpose is to allow Chinese GOVERNMENT entities to communicate, relatively safe from NSA snooping.
Amazing, sounds like the God Particle on the smallest scale.
Yup. It's even better than Star Trek's "Subspace" communication system, which at least in that sci-fi-fi series did involve some signal delay.
Wikileaks released the contents of the call-—
Gimmee one wonton soup, 2 order egg roll, one numba 18.
And a large numba 3, no MSG.
10 minut. 10 minut.
(no matter WHAT I order with Chinese takeout it’s ALWAYS ‘10 minut’)
Ha! We don’t need to break what’s up there we can pulverize what’s down here controlling it!
I wonder if that is why there is a great silence when we scan space for radio communications from other worlds.
It’s only unbreakable until someone goes straight through Falken’s Maze. :-P
No.
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