Energy extracted from space, teleported to new location using quantum computer
It is easy to list the advantages of quantum computing these days. Still, none of those lists involve using it to harvest energy, teleport it elsewhere, and store it for future use. That’s exactly what researchers at Purdue University in the US have achieved in the past year, even though the idea was proposed over a decade ago.
Quantum physics is still an emerging field, and much remains unknown about what can be accomplished. Scientists in the field keep proposing new theories that are tested extensively before they become laws that govern our understanding of the field.
One such law states that a perfectly perfect space does not exist in the quantum realm. Even if the space were cleaned up of the tiniest of atoms, tiny flickers of quantum fields would still remain in it and even have quantum properties such as entanglement.
Teleporting energy
Quantum entanglement is a fascinating phenomenon in quantum physics that explains the behavior of a group of particles whose quantum state cannot be described independently of the others. This entanglement continues even when a large distance separates the particles.
In 2008, Masahiro Hotta, a researcher at Tohoku University in Japan, proposed that the tiny flickers of quantum fields in empty spaces, when entangled, could be used to teleport energy. The idea remained a thought experiment for over a decade until quantum computing research picked up pace.
When researchers attempted Hotta’s experiments, they were indeed able to teleport the energy, but they hit a new hurdle. The teleported energy leaked into the environment was lost and could not be stored.
A research team led by Sabre Kais, a chemistry, electrical, and computer engineering professor at Purdue University in the US, now has a solution using quantum computing.
Qubits as a store of energy
Kais’ team solved the energy storage problem using the most basic quantum computing component, quantum bits or qubits. In their experiment, the researchers used qubits in their lowest energy state.
In a simpler world, this would be qubits at zero energy. But we know that even the emptiest places have some energy due to tiny flickers of quantum fields. If the two qubits were entangled and then separated, then even the slightest of actions would change their energy state.
For instance, if measurements of the first qubit’s energy state were made, it would increase its energy slightly, which would be reflected in the entangled qubit as well. This change would not be visible at the other end.
However, if the person making the measurement determined exactly how much extra energy the entangled qubits have, they would be able to extract this energy from the entangled qubit and bring the two qubits back to their lowest energy state.
According to Kais’ research, this extra energy could be stored in another qubit for future use. The researchers have tested this approach using simulations on a quantum computer.
One could argue that this is more of a simulation than a real experiment, but it is also the closest to a real experiment one could get in a simulation, considering qubits were calculating whether qubits could store energy, and there was high agreement.
Next, Kais and his team want to use this energy to carry out chemical reactions, making it a much more real-world application.
Source: Interesting Engineering
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Energy extracted from space, teleported to new location using quantum computer