Small step taken for quantum communication

In two separate experiments, a single atom in an optical cavity has strongly interacted with a photon from a faint light pulse and switch the photon’s state. The results are a step toward creating quantum networks that could be used in quantum computing and quantum communication, researchers report April 9 in Nature.

Ashley Yeager is the associate news editor at Science News. She has worked at The Scientist, the Simons Foundation, Duke University and the W.M. Keck Observatory, and was the web producer for Science News from 2013 to 2015. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a master’s degree in science writing from MIT.

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