57
submitted 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) by niktemadur@lemmy.world to c/askscience@lemmy.world

This all seems as exotic or esoteric to us now as these invisible electromagnetic waves were to Heinrich Hertz, who reportedly regarded them as mere scientific curiosities with no practical applications.

Unable to foresee radio, television, telephones, remote controls, microwave ovens, Wifi, Bluetooth... you get the point, that "thing with no practical applications" is now a staple of daily life, and all around us. We have fully tamed Electromagnetism.

Now with things like Quantum Computing and Bose-Einstein Condensates, we are starting to tame a new esoteric scientific curiosity - the probability wave function, the Uncertainty Principle.

Heinrich Hertz did not foresee things like satellite television and Spotify while looking for a spark flying across two metal tips from his dark room in the 1880s, but surely we have a better grasp of what potential benefits the newest technologies have in store for humanity?
Or are we for the most part still in the Hertz-like naive fiddling process?

Either way, there is going to be some incredible magic inside that quantum box!

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] eestileib@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 weeks ago

If it hits everyday life, it will be buried deep under a straightforward application layer. Some hobbyists bought "electricity"; most people bought "toasters" and "electric lights". CCDs revolutionized photography but the vast majority of users had no idea they were using one.

Depending on the mechanism by why which the condensate slows down the photon (for example, if it doesn't mess with polarization), you might be able to use it to store one half of an entangled pair of photons while you use the other to do whatever.

Putting together these two lines of thinking, a BEC could potentially be used as part of an authentication process to set up a secure channel; generate a pair, send one half of it off to your counterparts, verify their response using the stored one you have.

I think today, the stored photon is kept in a fiber optic loop; the idea would be the same as what you can do in a lab, but maybe much much smaller and cheaper.

this post was submitted on 28 Oct 2024
57 points (98.3% liked)

Ask Science

8634 readers
1 users here now

Ask a science question, get a science answer.


Community Rules


Rule 1: Be respectful and inclusive.Treat others with respect, and maintain a positive atmosphere.


Rule 2: No harassment, hate speech, bigotry, or trolling.Avoid any form of harassment, hate speech, bigotry, or offensive behavior.


Rule 3: Engage in constructive discussions.Contribute to meaningful and constructive discussions that enhance scientific understanding.


Rule 4: No AI-generated answers.Strictly prohibit the use of AI-generated answers. Providing answers generated by AI systems is not allowed and may result in a ban.


Rule 5: Follow guidelines and moderators' instructions.Adhere to community guidelines and comply with instructions given by moderators.


Rule 6: Use appropriate language and tone.Communicate using suitable language and maintain a professional and respectful tone.


Rule 7: Report violations.Report any violations of the community rules to the moderators for appropriate action.


Rule 8: Foster a continuous learning environment.Encourage a continuous learning environment where members can share knowledge and engage in scientific discussions.


Rule 9: Source required for answers.Provide credible sources for answers. Failure to include a source may result in the removal of the answer to ensure information reliability.


By adhering to these rules, we create a welcoming and informative environment where science-related questions receive accurate and credible answers. Thank you for your cooperation in making the Ask Science community a valuable resource for scientific knowledge.

We retain the discretion to modify the rules as we deem necessary.


founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS