Science and Technology Daily, Beijing, November 12 (Reporter **) According to the official website of the British Imperial College of Technology, researchers at the school and M Squared have joined hands to develop the world’s first quantum accelerometer for navigation. This quantum "compass" is an anti-interference navigation device that does not rely on global positioning satellites (GPS) and can determine the exact location of any place on earth.
While most navigation today relies on global satellite positioning systems, including GPS, that send and receive signals from satellites orbiting the Earth, the new quantum accelerometer is a stand-alone system that does not rely on any external signals. This is especially important because satellite signals can be blocked, intercepted, or even sabotaged or attacked, making accurate navigation impossible.
Accelerometers measure changes in the speed of an object over time, and use this change and the object’s starting point to calculate the object’s new location. While accelerometers are found in devices such as mobile phones and laptops, they must be recalibrated frequently and, for navigation, can only work continuously for a few hours at a time.
The team demonstrated the mobile, commercially available quantum accelerometer at the UK’s National Quantum Technology Showcase. It works by measuring the movements of ultracold atoms at extremely low temperatures, close to absolute zero, where they behave in "quantum" ways, like matter and waves. "When atoms are ultracold, we have to use quantum mechanics to describe how they move, which allows us to build devices such as atomic interferometers," said Dr. Joseph Cote, of Imperial College’s Cold Matter Centre.
To make atoms cold enough to detect their properties, powerful lasers that can be precisely controlled are needed. M Squared has spent three years developing a universal laser system for cold atom sensors that features high power, low noise and frequency tunability to cool atoms and provide an optical scale for acceleration measurements.
The researchers point out that the new quantum "compass" is designed to navigate large vehicles, ships, etc., but it can also be used for basic scientific research such as finding dark energy and attractive force waves.
In 2013, quantum research was identified as a priority area by the UK government, with a focus on military technology. Since then, through the UK National Quantum Technology Programme, the UK government has invested ￡270 million in the field over five years.
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Quantum physics has overturned all kinds of common sense in the macroscopic world, and particles with wave-particle duality seem so erratic and mysterious. In fact, many technologies are based on quantum physics, but ordinary people are ignorant. Now, quantum accelerometers based on quantum physics have come out, which do not rely on GPS, and can achieve precise positioning and precise navigation on their own. More than 100 years after the advent of quantum physics, various applications based on quantum technology are also coming to people. Using quantum properties, we may be able to modify and upgrade more devices that are currently widely used, making them simpler and more accurate. Has the era of commercial application of quantum technology begun?