【 Quantum Internet （1）】

Quantum Internet

Today's world is an information age, also called digital age, computer age or new media age, that is characterized by a rapid epochal shift from the traditional industry established by the industrial revolution to an economy primarily based upon information technology.

On October 29, 1969, this is a historic moment, the first message--'LO', sent on the internet, between the Network Measurement Center at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science directed by Leonard Kleinrock, and the NLS system at SRI International (SRI) by Douglas Engelbart in Menlo Park, because the network crashed after the first two letters. This project was created from the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) of the United States Department of Defense funded research into time-sharing of computers. It was heavily affected by needs and demands arising from the Cold War. The system of networked computers was under military control from the late 1960s to 1990.

On July 23, 2020, the department of Energy has provided a “blueprint strategy” for a prototype national quantum internet that could be completed within 10 years. This is for more secure "virtually unhackable" internet based on quantum computing technology, and determining to achieve supremacy in quantum computing, and that now includes plans for a fledgling quantum internet.

Scienteists have demonstrated using defective diamonds, high-flying drones, laser-bathed crystals and other exotica suggest practical, breakthroughs in transmitting, storing and manipulating quantum information have convinced some physicists unhackable quantum networks is imminent.

 

What is Quantum Internet?

                The goal of a quantum internet is to connect quantum computing using long distance quantum communication. The internet has had a revolutionary impact on our world. The long-term vision of this talk is to build a matching quantum internet that will operate in parallel to the internet we have today. This quantum internet will enable long-range quantum communication in order to achieve unparalleled capabilities that are provably impossible using only classical means.

                The University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering Professor David Awschalom via email explains: "A quantum internet will be the platform of a quantum ecosystem, where computers, networks, and sensors exchange information in a fundamentally new manner where sensing, communication, and computing literally work together as one entity." 

                Quantum internet using the laws of quantum mechanics to share information more securely and to connect a new generation of computers and sensor.  Using fiber-optic cable, satellites and drones fitted with quantum communication hardware connect the local quantum network.

                Quantum technology seeks to harness the distinct properties of atoms, photons and electrons to build more powerful computers and other tools for processing information. A quantum internet relies on photons exhibiting a quantum state known as entanglement, which allows them to share information over long distances without having a physical connection.

                Quantum internet works with quantum bits, called qubits. Qubit is the basic unit of information for a quantum computer, analogous to a bit in ordinary machines. Another word, it is the fundamental building block for quantum information processes. Whereas conventional computers store and process data as a series of ‘1’s and ‘0’s two-state quantum-mechanical system, one of the simplest quantum systems displaying the peculiarity of quantum mechanics.

The quantum internet would be a complement to existing internet or a branch of regular internet, is not a replacement of the regular internet we now have. It would be able to solve some of the problems that plague the current internet. For example, a quantum internet would offer much greater protection from hackers and cybercriminals.

Why we need built the quantum internet?

·         A quantum network is extremely secure, you disrupt the data just by observing it, making it virtually impossible to intercept. Quantum internet will be more secure, some even say unhackable, because of the nature of photons and other qubits (quantum bits). Any attempt to observe or disrupt these particles would automatically alter their state and destroy the information being transmitted, scientists say. But is not completely secure, for example: a brand new and unboxed computer might have had malware installed somewhere along the supply chain, and the operating system will likely have vulnerabilities. Until you open the box, it is effectively Schrodinger's computer: secure and insecure simultaneously.

·         Connect various quantum computers, helping boost their total computing power. Quantum computers are still at an early stage of development and not yet as powerful as classical computers, but connecting them via an internet could help accelerate their use for solving complex problems like finding new pharmaceuticals or new high-tech materials

·         Transmit large amounts of data

·         Could rapidly increase even over high fiber speeds.

·         Might help with extremely sensitive quantum sensor networks that could better detect earthquakes or even medical conditions.

·         User will surf seamlessly between the regular and quantum internet as they make purchases and send information, without necessarily knowing they are switching platforms.

·         Potential economic rewards that quantum technology could bring.

·         We discuss these applications in the context of specific networks that enable some function, with specific requirements on technology, fidelity, and operations.