Conventional lasers work by stimulating the electrons in atoms to oscillate in unison. When these electrons move from a high-energy state to a low-energy state, they release a form of light called “coherent light,” meaning one that has a uniform wavelength and phase. But a quantum laser, like the one developed by the United Statesit’s a little different.
Specifically, the photonic dimer laser takes advantage of quantum entanglement to bind two photons together. This phenomenon of entanglement in the quantum world (the universe of the smallest) is occurs when two or more particles become entangled or connected so that the state of one instantly influences that of the other and, here comes the important thing, regardless of the distance that separates them.
Thus, a quantum laser is similar to the conventional one in the sense that they stimulate particles to oscillate in unison, the advantage of the quantum one is that by using entanglement, it can oscillate particles (in this case, photons) regardless of distance. This means that it can cope with adverse weather conditions, such as fog or mist, which interrupt the beam of a conventional laser. I wouldn’t be so limited by distance either.
This is possible because quantum photons are easier to manipulate and act as a single entity, thus increasing the energy and stability of the laser, maintaining precision and endurance at greater distancesThose responsible for the progress point out in a statement. Quantum lasers could therefore provide better performance for military applications such as surveillance and secure communications in harsh environments.
The interesting thing is that who commissioned this type of laser was the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)who has awarded a $1 million grant to a team led by Jung-Tsung Shen, associate professor of electrical and systems engineering at Washington University in St. Louis.
“Photons encode information when they travel, but the trip through the atmosphere is very harmful to them – explains Shen himself -. When two photons are united, they still suffer the effects of the atmosphere, but can protect each other so that some phase information can still be preserved”.
This advance will obviously have military applications, but it can also be used in astronomical research and also in studies of the human brain.