This Strange New Internet May Be the Most Secure Ever Built
What if your Internet connection could be unhackable? Quantum networking is a next-generation way of connecting devices using the weird and powerful rules of quantum physics. Instead of just sending data with electricity or light like today’s internet, it uses particles that can be instantly linked—even across long distances—to enable communication that’s ultra-secure and incredibly fast. With our growing data needs, security concerns, and scientific advances, quantum networking is on the horizon as one possible solution to the increase in demand.
Just to get this out of the way, we pronounce qubit as “cue-bit.” It’s a question I’ve had for a while. That should make it easier to read the rest of the piece.
The Basics of Quantum Communications
We typically think of digital activity in terms of 1s and 0s, using electrical signals or light pulses. A bit is either a 1 or a 0. Quantum communication uses qubits, which can be 1 or 0, but there’s a third option: both. There’s a term for that state, called superposition. Think of tossing a coin into the air. While it’s in the air, it’s both heads and tails. It’s only when it lands for measurement that it takes on either a “heads” state or a “tails” state. A qubit becomes either a 1 or a 0 when it collapses into one state as we do something to measure it.
The Core Components of Quantum Networks
Quantum Repeaters
A quantum repeater is a special device that extends the range of quantum communication. In classical networks, a repeater boosts the signal to cover a longer distance. However, in a quantum network, you can’t just copy or amplify the signal. Strange things happen when you try, like the collapse of the qubit or some unpredictable change. Quantum repeaters use a technique called entanglement swapping to link entangled segments together, which creates a secure connection over a longer distance. I wrote a piece on quantum entanglement, which you can read for a little background. A quantum repeater is like a relay runner who passes the entanglement from one section of the network to the next section. The runner can preserve that delicate quantum link across many miles.
Quantum Memory
Quantum memory is a real, physical device that can store qubits without destroying their fragile state. That’s important because of the criticality of timing in quantum networks. In classical networks, you can buffer data or you can resend packets. However, qubits can’t be copied or delayed without destroying the quantum “both 1 and 0” state – unless you use quantum memory.
Imagine someone handing you 6a delicate object with instructions to deliver it to someone else in exactly the same condition in which you received it. How would you know that it was in exactly the same condition without looking at it? You would have to somehow store the object in a very safe container that you knew you could trust to keep it safe, so that you wouldn’t need to check on it between the time you received it and the time you delivered it. That’s what quantum memory needs to achieve.
But wait, there’s more!
Quantum states are extremely fragile, and they can only maintain their superposition (that state of being both 1 and 0) or their entanglement for a short time before losing their quantum properties (that’s called decoherence). Bad timing, even if it’s a microsecond, can break the quantum link before it’s used. Entanglement swapping, a key aspect of quantum networking, only works if two entangled particles arrive at the same time.
To overcome the problems that mistiming can cause, quantum networks can pause part of the connection while waiting for the rest of it to catch up. The entanglement swapping process may require that one part of the entangled state remain in memory until the rest of the network is ready. So, a very sensitive and protective storage device holds the qubits without changing or collapsing the state of any of the qubits until the time arrives for the qubit to exit memory and continue over the network.
Use Cases and Benefits of Quantum Networks
There must be some great reasons for putting so much effort into this technology, right? Yes, there are, and three of the strongest arguments are some of my favorite topics: security, collaboration, and cloud improvements.
Network security and privacy are built on the premise that the only people who should be able to gain access to a communication are those who need it. Keep in mind that measuring a qubit changes its state, and that includes just looking at the qubit. That state change indicates an intrusion. We just don’t get that level of tamper detection with all of the best tools available to us today.
Quantum networks can link quantum computers at different locations, allowing them to share entangled qubits. The benefits of quantum networking on research and collaboration are the prospect of sharing computing power, researchers running experiments simultaneously, and sharing sensitive data without compromising its integrity. Research projects can take on exponentially greater dimensions with more brain power, more compute power, and distributed experimentation.
Additionally, there’s a huge push toward “the cloud,” which is just a way of saying “computer resources that live on someone else’s property.” Right now, all of our encryption is based on math, but what if it were based on laws of physics instead? Sending encrypted data over the Internet would become a foregone conclusion rather than a concerted effort. At that point, cloud computing will be the preferred selection for healthcare, government, and finance of all types.
Challenges and Limitations of Quantum Networks
New technology will always meet rough waters and resistance. There are technological hurdles to jump over and personal bias hoops to navigate through. When the benefits exist in a plane and on a level that we can’t see with the naked eye, that’s an added layer of complication.
First, we already have classical networks, but we don’t already have the infrastructure in place to build quantum networks. Building a network is no easy task, and putting a quantum network together isn’t a matter of the same order of switches, routers, and cables that we’re using right now.
Second, scaling those new networks is, again, more complicated than just adding a new router. Add to that complication that the address space will be completely different, and quantum networks can’t simply be layered on top of classical networks.
Finally, we have the typical issues with signal fidelity that we see with increased distances between hops. Classical networks, particularly those that serve “long-haul” and “backbone” networks that connect cities to each other, use repeaters or regenerators to keep the signal “alive” and true. The undersea cables that let a European viewer watch a video hosted in New Zealand use signal regenerators for the same purpose. Quantum networks can’t use that hardware, but they can make use of that quantum repeater I mentioned above. Without those repeaters, we’re looking at a distance between “hops” of between 60 and 125 miles. Right now, we don’t know for sure how far a quantum network could stretch with repeaters. We know repeaters will allow a stretch, we just don’t know to what extent without signal attenuation and degradation.
What Comes Next?
One of the initiatives for the research teams is integration with classical networks, using a hybrid system. Some classical network components can manage routing, timing, and authentication on quantum networks. Also, some quantum protocols need classical messages to complete some tasks, like confirming entanglement.
It looks, from the published research, like we could see a prototype as early as 2027. By 2032, we may have the seeds of a global quantum Internet. That may sound like a long way out, but it’s only five years. Each new discovery paves the way for many more, so this is really just the beginning.
Your Turn
What would you want from a quantum network? What would it make better in your world? Or, what do you see as an impediment that researchers can’t overcome? Drop a comment below the Related Posts section, and let’s dig some more together!
Want More?
Here are a few links to add some depth to what you just read:
DOE Explains…Quantum Networks | Department of Energy
Quantum leaps promise to reshape the internet
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