#22 Deeptech Insights - Join the Quantum Leap: Exploring the Second Quantum Revolution and the Dawn of a New Era
DeepTech Innovations Unlocked: This Week Our Expert News Analysis for Smarter Business and Investment Decisions
By David Levy, Deeptech Expert
What is going on?
Two particles of light (photons) are completely separated by a small or astronomical distance. Measure one’s physical properties, and instantly, as if by magic, the other particle’s properties are altered and determined. It is as though the measurement itself has sparked ‘faster-than-light’ communication between the particles. This odd phenomenon, called quantum entanglement, has recently been the subject of great celebration, when the 2022 Nobel prize in physics was awarded to physicists John Clauser, Alain Aspect, and Anton Zeilinger, who, over several decades, have formed the basis for a new era of quantum technology.
What does it mean?
Quantum entanglement, describing the physical reality of the quantum world, is famously tough to grasp. Quantum experimentation’s overwhelming success is the cornerstone of practically all technological advancement. However, quantum theory, the math behind it, appears to violate two previously highly held principles in physics: 1) Locality, and 2) Realism. Locality means that every object can only be physically affected by its immediate surroundings. Since only objects of zero mass can travel at the speed of light, faster-than-light travel is a violation of Einstein’s theory of relativity. Realism means that measurement of an object shouldn’t affect its physical properties. Einstein said that if he’d stared at the moon, and then closed his eyes, he’d hope the moon would still remain there, regardless of his observing it. This paradox was exposed to the world in the famous 1935 EPR (Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen) paper, named after its collaborating physicists. It suggested that there must be unknown hidden variables at play, which when available, would allow for a deterministic quantum description of reality. Dubbing quantum entanglement ‘Spooky action at a distance’, Einstein famously said: “God doesn’t play with dice”.
But we can’t tell God what to do. The idea of a measurement determining reality is difficult to accept. However, this appears to be the reality of the quantum world. A quantum particle is simultaneously in multiple physical states, until a measurement or some other subtle interruption is made, causing it to ‘collapse’ into one determined physical state. A subatomic particle in multiple states at the same time, is said to be in superposition. A notion so bizarre, it only applies to the quantum world. In fact, the late physicist John Bell devised a theorem in 1964, showing with mathematics that local realism does not apply to quantum mechanics. Thereby, allowing for quantum entanglement, and proving Einstein wrong, on paper.
In the following decades, Bell’s theorem was put to the test and confirmed by Nobel Laureates Alain Aspect, John Clauser and later Anton Zeilinger, as they devised and revised several experiments with entangled photons, providing the first proofs of quantum entanglement.
Why should I care?
💸For markets: the Cutting-Edge Companies and Materials that Power Quantum Revolution.
IBM is a world leader in quantum-safe cryptography. It is at the cusp of solving problems that the world’s most powerful classical supercomputers will never be able to.
Google quantum AI manufactures and tests novel hardware, and its teams are already designing quantum systems and algorithms.
Classiq technologies, based in Tel Aviv, is a remarkable quantum software company that builds a platform to automate the design of quantum algorithms.
Microsoft’s Azure Quantum applications are looking for breakthroughs in quantum chemistry and materials science, to accelerate research for quantum computing. Azure teams aim to tackle some of the world’s hardest problems, such as climate change and food security.
What are the Cutting-Edge Materials That Will Power the Next Generation of Computers Materials?
Classical computers are encoded by bits which can each either represent 0 or 1. Quantum computers are encoded by qubits; each one can simultaneously represent 0 and 1 thanks to superposition.
There are several candidates for qubits. Each one has advantages and disadvantages. A photon can represent a qubit, the quantum equivalent of a bit, as a carrier of information. PsiQuantum, Xanadu and Amazon Quantum Solutions Lab are developing photonic quantum computing technology.
Furthermore, a chain of trapped ions may simulate qubits, using microwave or optical signals for manipulation. Companies Honeywell and IonQ work on ion-trapped quantum technologies.
Intel, Google and IBM simulate Qubits by manipulating single electrons in semiconducting materials such as selenium and germanium. Applying magnetic fields and microwaves to these materials allows them to exhibit superposition and entanglement. Qubit systems have also been simulated by Intel, at low temperatures, using superconductivity. In 2018, Intel has created one such qubit chip, called Tangle Lake.
🧑🏿🤝🧑🏻For society: New Ways of Doing and Working.
This groundbreaking work opens up new avenues in the research of quantum application. It allows for the development of quantum cryptography. This will involve entangled particles, taking cryptography to its highest possible level.
Quantum computing is the next generation of computers, which will take advantage of the natural phenomenon of superposition mentioned above, to create quantum computers that will store and retrieve information faster. The standard computer hardware will be replaced by a system of quantum particles which will store and retrieve information at top speed, by performing simultaneous tasks.
Also, scientists think that knowledge of entangled particles will be used to link quantum computers into a quantum network, essentially having computers share information instantly.
Quantum metrology is the science of refining measurements of all physical properties. This will benefit all walks of life, once enriched by our understanding of entanglement. For example, GPS location will be orders of magnitudes more precise than it is today.
🔮What’s next?
The 2022 physics Nobel prize research does not only open up the way for technological advancement. It’s in itself a portal for pure scientific research. An avenue to discovering fundamentally new properties of nature.
Further reading / watching:
1️⃣ Anton Zeilinger’s photon entanglement experiment had its challenges. First, the need to generate and maintain entangled photons. Second, the difficulty of sending photons over long distances without losing their entanglement, and lastly, the challenge of detecting the photons accurately. Here is a wonderful 2019 documentary for the general public with more detail about Zeilinger’s experiment, produced by NOVA, PBS 👇
2️⃣ Here’s a 2022 list and description of 81 companies working on quantum computing.
3️⃣ Here’s an article about a photon entanglement experiment performed in China in 2017. It is the experiment with the largest verified distance between entangled particles to date.
4️⃣ Further reading on Quantum computing and materials can be found here.
✨ That’s all for today. Thanks for reading ! Stay tuned for our next article coming up end of the week with our Deeptech Insights Newsletter.
Much love Deeptechers!👋💖