Researchers at Shanghai Jiao Tong University recently published a paper claiming they’ve sent entangled light particles through seawater, something that’s never been done before.

The team was able to transmit particles over three meters of seawater in an isolated environment. While this isn’t exactly going to secure communications across the seas – yet – it’s first step in bringing the quantum internet solution to a globe that’s covered in oceans.

It’s interesting because it’s basically teleportation. Quantum entanglement is a highly complex process that involves shooting a laser through a crystal optic to create entangled photons.

Credit: Shanghai Jiao Tong University

TNW covered the successful use of quantum entanglement to transmit from space earlier this year, including more information on how the concept works. The scientists have since repeated the process in the other direction – they’ve sent messages both to and from the Micius satellite.

According to the team at Shanghai Jiao Tong, they’ll be able to extend the range of communication from the three meters of water they experimented in to at least 900 meters.

If quantum networking is the future of the internet — and many experts think it is — we’re going to need to figure out how to overcome the limitations of space-based solutions and fiber-optic cables here on earth.

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