Quantum technology might evoke science fiction tropes like shrinking humans and time travel, but experts think it has real-world applications to secure and improve space systems.
“Unfortunately, quantum is still, for some people, part of sci-fi, but actually we are using quantum technology in space already,” Sana Amairi-Pyka, lead scientist for quantum communications at the Technology Innovation Institute in Abu Dhabi, said during a panel discussion at the Dubai Airshow’s Space Pavilion in November.
The quantum technology of everyday use, such as in smartphones and personal computers, is what Markus Krutzik, head of joint lab integrated quantum sensors at Ferdinand-Braun-Institut, Leibniz-Institut für Höchstfrequenztechnik in Berlin, called first-generation quantum technology.
At the beginning of the 20th century, quantum mechanics and laws of quantum physics were being formulated, he said. Now, they’re being transferred into technology.
Quantum mechanics in simple terms is the field of physics that explains how extremely small objects have the characteristics of both tiny pieces of matter, called particles, and a disturbance that transfers energy, called waves.
The study and application of their interactions, down to the atomic and subatomic level, is aimed at more efficient and powerful processing, such as quantum computing. Quantum computing uses a basic unit of information called qubits instead of a digital computing’s binary codes to perform faster and more effectively.
Krutzik develops optical clocks and quantum sensors, “especially for … operation in space,” he said. Clocks are one example of what quantum technology could bring to space: enhanced navigation.
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