Quantum entanglement – is a very strange system but potentially hugely useful quantum phenomenon where two particles are inextricably linked across space and time – could play a major role in future radar technology.
The technology has a variety of applications in security and biomedical fields: building better MRI scanners, or giving doctors an alternative way of looking for particular types of cancer.
The beginning of this system is started in 2008 when an engineer from MIT devised a way to use the features of entanglement to illuminate objects while using barely any photons. In certain scenarios, such technology promises to outperform conventional radar, according to its makers, particularly in noisy thermal environments.
"Using entanglement generated at a few thousandths of a degree above absolute zero, we have been able to detect low reflectivity objects at room temperature." says quantum physicist Shabir Barzanjeh, who conducted the work at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria.
Entangled particles are distinguished by having properties that correlate with one another more than you'd expect by chance. In the case of the radar, one photon from each entangled pair, described as a signal photon, is sent towards an object. The remaining photon, described as an idler, is kept in isolation, waiting for a report back.
"When benchmarked against classical low-power detectors in the same conditions we already see, at very low-signal photon numbers, that quantum-enhanced detection can be superior." says quantum physicist Shabir Barzanjeh.
The research has been published in Science Advances.
** Source: https://www.sciencealert.com/
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