[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/10845\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EThe race is on for a new internet\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn May 2023, Dr Benjamin Lanyon at the University of Innsbruck in Austria took an important step toward creating a new kind of internet: he transferred information along an optical fibre 50 kilometres long using the principles of quantum physics.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EInformation in quantum physics differs from the units of data \u2013 binary digits \u2013 stored and processed by computers that form the core of the current World Wide Web. The quantum physics realm covers the properties and interactions of molecules, atoms and even smaller particles such as electrons and photons.\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EParticle power \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EQuantum bits, or \u201cqubits\u201d, offer the promise of transmitting information more securely because the particles get changed by the act of observing and measuring them. That means an eavesdropper can\u0027t go undetected.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ELanyon said his work makes the quantum internet appear feasible within cities, after which longer intercity distances will be the goal.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018You could imagine this being a large-city scale,\u2019 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EHis breakthrough was part of an EU research project to bring the goal of a quantum internet closer.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ECalled the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/101102140\u0022\u003EQuantum Internet Alliance\u003C\/a\u003E, or QIA, the project brings together research institutes and companies across Europe. The initiative is receiving \u20ac24 million in EU funding over three and a half years until the end of March 2026.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It is not meant to replace the classical internet, but to work together,\u2019 said Stephanie Wehner, a German native who coordinates the QIA and is a professor of quantum information at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. \u2018We\u2019re not going to replace Netflix.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EA key concept in quantum physics is entanglement. If two particles are entangled, no matter how far apart they are in space, they will possess similar properties \u2013 for example, both having the same measurement of something called \u201cspin\u201d, a quantum version of the direction that the particles are spinning.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe spin state of the particles isn\u2019t clear until they are observed. Until then, they\u2019re in multiple states called superposition.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EBut when one is observed, the state of both particles becomes known.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cb\u003EPossibilities aplenty\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThis is useful in secure communications. People hacking a quantum transmission would leave behind an obvious trace of their attempt by causing a change in the state of an observed particle.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We can use the properties of quantum entanglement to achieve a means of secure communication that is provably secure even if the attacker has a quantum computer,\u2019 said Wehner.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe secure communications afforded by a quantum internet could open up a much broader range of applications that are well beyond the bounds of the classical internet.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003EWe can use the properties of quantum entanglement to achieve a means of secure communication.\r\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EProfessor Stephanie Wehner, Quantum Internet Alliance\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIn medicine, for example, the physics of entanglement allows for a level of clock synchronisation that can improve telesurgery.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018If I want to perform surgery on some remote node, I want this to be very precisely timed in order to not make any mistakes,\u2019 said Wehner.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAstronomy is another potential beneficiary.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ETelescopes making distant observations could \u2018use a quantum internet to generate entanglement between the sensors to get a much better image of the sky,\u2019 Wehner said.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EA further example might be ATM machines.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAt present, were an ATM to crash when a person was withdrawing money, the machine would assume no cash had been delivered while another dispenser would register a money withdrawal. A quantum internet could remove that discrepancy.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EMany applications of a quantum internet will likely become apparent only after the technology is created.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It offers a whole range of new possibilities for making precise measurements of space and time and studying how the world and the universe work,\u2019 said Lanyon.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDistance test\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe trick now is scaling up a quantum internet to use many particles across long distances.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ELanyon and his team have also demonstrated communicating not just between single particles but also \u2018trains\u2019 of particles \u2013 in this case light particles called photons \u2013 speeding up the rate of entanglement between quantum nodes.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018If you just sent one photon at a time, you have to wait for the travel time,\u2019 he said. \u2018But if you can make trains of many photons at once, this allows you to increase the rate of entanglement between quantum nodes for the distances we want.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe ultimate goal is to extend quantum nodes to much bigger ranges, perhaps 500 kilometres, and create a prototype of a quantum internet that can link remote cities \u2013 much like the classical internet relies on different nodes to create a global internet.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile a quantum internet could exist for specialised applications as soon as 2029, experts are wary of hazarding a guess about when a full version might be available for a wide range of uses.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003EPeople are developing new applications of quantum networks at quite a high rate.\r\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EDr Benjamin Lanyon, Quantum Internet Alliance\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It\u2019s a very difficult question,\u2019 said Wehner.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAs the QIA advances the components and systems of the quantum internet, Europe is also working to develop quantum computers themselves.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIn June 2023, an EU public-private partnership \u2013 the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking \u2013 announced that\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/eurohpc-ju.europa.eu\/one-step-closer-european-quantum-computing-eurohpc-ju-signs-hosting-agreements-six-quantum-computers-2023-06-27_en\u0022\u003Esix countries in Europe\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;would host quantum computers. The countries are\u0026nbsp;the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe aim is to ensure that Europe is at the forefront of the quantum technologies revolution. Quantum computers are expected to have unprecedented calculation power with many uses, including the ability to break the cryptographic algorithms that secure most of the exchanges of the current internet.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECrowded field\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EWith projections that half of the most used cryptographic systems will be broken by the end of the decade, Europe is hardly the only interested party.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EChina and the US have made advances in quantum computing and the quantum internet in recent years.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EBack on the infrastructure front, Europe is taking other steps. It\u0027s developing an integrated \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu\/en\/policies\/european-quantum-communication-infrastructure-euroqci\u0022\u003Espace and terrestrial infrastructure\u003C\/a\u003E for secure communications \u2013 a building block of sorts for the quantum internet.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018I\u2019m very proud to say we are world-leading in many domains,\u2019 said Wehner.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile in all interested countries much work remains, the potential benefits signal further advances and breakthroughs before too long.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018People are developing new applications of quantum networks at quite a high rate,\u2019 Lanyon said.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n(This article was updated on 12 October 2023 to correct a word in the quote in the 13th paragraph by Stephanie Wehner. The word is \u2018\u2018provably\u2019\u2019 rather than \u2018\u2018probably\u2019\u2019)\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cem\u003EResearch in this article was funded by the EU. 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