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posted by cmn32480 on Wednesday August 17 2016, @01:07PM   Printer-friendly
from the new-toys-are-all-made-in-china dept.

China has launched a satellite that will beam entangled photons to base stations on Earth:

China has successfully launched the world's first quantum-enabled satellite, state media said. It was carried on a rocket which blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in China's north west early on Tuesday. The satellite is named after the ancient Chinese scientist and philosopher Micius. The project tests a technology that could one day offer digital communication that is "hack-proof". But even if it succeeds, it is a long way off that goal, and there is some mind-bending physics to get past first.

The satellite will create pairs of so-called entangled photons - tiny sub-atomic particles of light whose properties are dependent on each other - beaming one half of each pair down to base stations in China and Austria. This special kind of laser has several curious properties, one of which is known as "the observer effect" - its quantum state cannot be observed without changing it. So, if the satellite were to encode an encryption key in that quantum state, any interception would be obvious. It would also change the key, making it useless.


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 17 2016, @07:44PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 17 2016, @07:44PM (#389263)

    Oopsy. Seems like you forgot to tick your AC box, dear Ethanol-fueled. Maybe that #2792 ID influence of yours can retract the comment? (a.k.a. "Who's giggling now, bitch?)

    Thank you SO MUCH for this opportunity to expose you for the shit commander that you are.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 18 2016, @03:15PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 18 2016, @03:15PM (#389612)

    I see you're new here. AFAIK, Ethanol-fueled does not believe in ticking the AC box. Unlike you, he proudly stands behind each and every of his trollish comments, and I salute him for that.

    Troll long and prosper, Ethanol-fueled.