--- title: "Physicists Just Stored and Transported Light Itself" description: "German physicists controlled the transport of stored light for the first time. Learn how this physics news impacts quantum computing." date: "2020-10-13" modified: "2020-10-21" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/physicists-transported-stored-light" categories: - "Physics" - "Quantum Physics" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "quantum communication" - "quantum computing" - "the digest" --- # Physicists Just Stored and Transported Light Itself ![A team of German physicists managed to pack up light — and unpack it 1.2 millimeters away without altering it in the process.]() *\Image: Images via pxfuel\* ## Pack It Up A team of German physicists managed to pack up light — and unpack it 1.2 millimeters away, without altering it in the process. It's a simple concept, but extremely difficult to actually pull off. To do it, the team from the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) had to cool down rubidium-87 atoms to almost absolute zero. "We stored the light by putting it in a suitcase so to speak, only that in our case the suitcase was made of a cloud of cold atoms," Patrick Windpassinger, professor at JGU, research lead, said in [a statement](). "We moved this suitcase over a short distance and then took the light out again." ## Quantum Communication The experiment could usher in a new era in quantum computing, because in some systems data storage requires the capturing and manipulating of quantum information carried by light. "This is very interesting not only for physics in general, but also for quantum communication, because light is not very easy to 'capture', and if you want to transport it elsewhere in a controlled manner, it usually ends up being lost," he added. Their experiment also demonstrates that the light only had a "minor effect on the coherence of the storage," as the team writes in a [paper]() published in the journal *Physical Review Letters.* ## Light Memory The feat builds on previous research in which the same team managed to transport cold atoms along an "optical conveyor belt" produced by two lasers beams. The team is hoping their research could one day lead to light-based memory storage — "optical racetrack memories" — in quantum communications networks. **READ MORE:** [Physicists successfully carry out controlled transport of stored light]() \[Universitaet Mainz\] **More on quantum computing:** *[Scientists Create Quantum System That Stays Operational 10,000 Longer]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()