Scientists Perform Quantum Teleportation With High Accuracy Across 44 Kilometers

Teleportation is the stuff of science fiction, but scientists are working on teleportation in the real world. They're not teleporting people or products. Rather they're working on quantum teleportation that could lead to the creation of a highly secure and extremely fast quantum Internet. As part of the research, the team have been able to teleport high fidelity quantum information over a total distance of 44 kilometers, which is 27 miles.

When information arrived at the other end of the system, it was received with 90 percent accuracy. Scientists note that data fidelity and transfer distance are crucial to building a real working quantum Internet. The team achieved greater than 90 percent fidelity with quantum information sent across the network sent across an extensive fiber optical network similar to those that form the backbone of the existing Internet.

Physicists on the project are excited by the results noting that the result is a key achievement on the way to building technology that could redefine global communication. Quantum technology uses qubits, which are unmeasured particles that remain suspended in a mix of possible states. Qubits introduced to each other have their identities entangled.

The technology would essentially allow both dice to add up to seven, no matter how far apart they are. Data in one location instantly reflects the data in another location. Sending each cubit across 44 kilometers of fiber set a new limit on how far researchers can send entangled qubits and still successfully use them to teleport quantum information.

Researchers on the team say that while this is the first time they've been able to transmit quantum data over such a long distance with accuracy, there is years of work ahead to make a city-sized quantum network possible. Research into quantum teleportation has been conducted for years.