MEXICO: Light is an extremely useful tool for quantum communication, but it has one major disadvantage: It usually travels at the speed of light and cannot be kept in place. A team of scientists at the Vienna University of Technology has demonstrated that this problem can be solved – and in the glass fiber networks we already use.
By coupling atoms to glass fibers, light was slowed down to 112 mph. The team even managed to bring the light to a complete stop and to retrieve it again later. This technology is an important prerequisite for a future glass fiber-based quantum-internet, in which quantum information can be teleported over great distances.
In a vacuum, the speed of light is always the same: approximately 670.6 million mph. When light is sent through a medium such as glass or water, it is slowed a little due to its interaction with the material. “In our system, this effect is extreme, because we are creating an exceedingly strong interaction between light and matter,” said professor Arno Rauschenbeutel. “The speed of light in our glass fiber is only 180 kilometers per hour.
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