Scientists have for the first time demonstrated a process that is essential for the creation of a ‘quantum internet’, where quantum computers are linked together in a global network.

Such a network could not only enable quantum computers to form their own version of the internet, but would enable quantum key distribution – a form of ultra secure communication – over long distances.

At present, computers are networked together using optical signals, which are typically transferred using cables such as fibre optics.

However with a quantum network these optical signals would take the form of individual light particles, known as photons.

But controlling photons in such a way that they can be used as signals is an immense challenge, as not only do they need to be made a certain shape, but this shape needs to be achieved within a miniscule timeframe.

Scientists have been trying for some time to achieve this reshaping of photons – from their natural asymmetric shape to a symmetric one – in the adequate timeframe.

In order for the process to work, the photon needs to be made symmetrical in under a nanosecond – a billionth of a second.

No one had ever managed it before, but this research team, from Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands and the FOM Foundation, have become the first, using electrical pulses less than a nanosecond in length.

Eindhoven University of Technology research leader Andrea Fiore explained what a significant achievement this is:

“The emission of a photon only lasts for one nanosecond, so if you want to change anything you have to do it within that time,” she said.

“It’s like the shutter of a high-speed camera, which has to be very short if you want to capture something that changes very fast in an image.

“By controlling the speed at which you send a photon, you can in principle achieve very efficient exchange of photons, which is important for the future quantum internet.”

Quantum computers themselves are very much in their infancy, but are seeing significant research efforts that make their development into viable pieces of commercial technology only a matter of time.

While traditional computers work with bits that can be in one of two states – 1 or 0 – quantum computers use bits that can be both 1 and 0 simultaneously.

The result is – in theory at least – a computer than in some ways far outstrips its traditional cousins. Here we don’t mean in terms of graphical capabilities, or any of the other measures we typically use to judge a powerful gaming computer, but in terms of tackling highly advanced computational and mathematical problems.

As a result, quantum computers are somewhat of a holy grail for cryptography, as they could render cryptographic systems currently deemed unbreakable as utterly ineffective. Secure web pages, encrypted email and a host of other well-protected data systems could become immediately accessible with their invention.

The flip side of this is that quantum computers could be used to develop systems with an unparalleled level of security, and a quantum internet would bring this to a network reaching across the world.

By enabling quantum key distribution – where two parties can communicate using a random shared key known only to them, and where they would immediately know when a third party was trying to gain access – a quantum internet would make truly private and protected communication across the globe possible.