While
the rest of us were busy talking about the potential of quantum networks,
which would allow for perfectly secure communication based on the laws
of quantum mechanics, the gub'ment has been running one for at least two
years:
Today, Richard Hughes and pals at Los Alamos National Labs in New Mexico
reveal an alternative quantum internet, which they say they’ve
been running for two and half years. Their approach is to create a quantum
network based around a hub and spoke-type network. All messages get
routed from any point in the network to another via this central hub.
[...]
Hughes and co say they’ve solved this with their unique approach
which equips each node in the network with quantum transmitters–ie
lasers–but not with photon detectors which are expensive and bulky.
Only the hub is capable of receiving a quantum message (although all
nodes can send and receiving conventional messages in the normal way).
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