Welcome back to PRISM, the SCISOC newsletter! As the fortnight draws to an end, so does our window for Camp Leader applications, which you can read more about in the SCISOC Report! In this edition, we also bring you an article about the recent invention of quantum teleportation, and what that means for us in the future. To round it off, our featured Fun Corner this week is about the story of Sadako Sasaki and her one thousand paper cranes. Get ready, settle down, and let's dive in! |
|
|
đ¨ !! 7 HOURS LEFT !! đ¨ Kickstart the year by applying to be a 2021 SCISOC Camp Leader for the opportunity of a lifetime! SCISOCâs Orientation Camp will be the first flagship event of the year, encouraging first-year students to make new friends and feel comfortable settling into the new university life. Of course, to facilitate bonding between campers, camp leaders are necessary. So if you are enthusiastic, responsible, vibrant, and ready to have fun, we want YOU! This is a great opportunity to work collaboratively with your fellow peers, create lasting relationships and build your leadership and teamwork skills! For more information, check out our event on our Facebook page here, and submit your written application here! Get in quick, as applications will be considered on a rolling basis and applications close tonight (10th January) at 11:59pm! |
|
|
|
Recently, scientists at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory managed to achieve âsustained, high-fidelity quantum teleportationâ for the first time. Now, when you hear the word âteleportationâ you most likely think of âbeam me up Scottyâ or the ability to instantaneously travel between two points, popularly used in games and movies. âTeleportâ is commonly used to refer to the instantaneous transport of matter between two points in space. But quantum teleportation is something else entirely. So, what is quantum teleportation? Quantum teleportation is distinctly different from âteleportationâ in that it only transfers quantum information between two different locations. This information is in the form of a quantum bit, or a qubit for short. A qubit is the quantum version of the bit used in computing. In classical computing, a bit can either be a 0 or a 1, but a qubit can be both a 0 and a 1 at the same time. The process of quantum teleportation relies on the quantum phenomenon called quantum entanglement, which is when a pair of entangled particles have interdependent quantum states, regardless of the distance between them. This means that the properties of one of the particles affect the properties of the other particle, even if they are separated. So, any changes applied to one of the particles will also be applied to the other even though they are apart. |
|
Illustration of entangled particles Credit: National Institute of Standards and Technology |
The information that needs to be transferred is prepared in the qubit and combined with one of the particles, the sender particle, which causes a change in the other particle, the receiver particle, due to entanglement. Once the information has been transferred between the two particles, the quantum information is erased from the sender particle preserving the No-Cloning theorem. So, in a way it creates a pseudo-movement of the sender particle as the two particles are identical and the information is now present in the receiver particle. It is the exact same as if the sender particle was physically moved to the location of the receiver particle. |
|
|
| This is easier to understand using a diagram. In step 1) we see that two identical entangled particles are placed at locations A and B which are physically separated. In step 2) the sender particle has âinformationâ attached to it represented by the cross. Then in step 3), since the particles are entangled the information is transferred to the receiver particle and destroyed from the sender. Now, note that the same result couldâve been achieved by physically moving the sender particle in step 2) to location B. |
|
|
Now of course, this explanation has been simplified significantly and does not fully encapsulate the process under which quantum teleportation occurs. There are many other important aspects in play such as two separate channels, a classical channel and a quantum channel, both of which send different pieces of information to the receiver particle. But for the sake of appreciating the achievement of the scientists at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory it is not necessary to delve into the complexities. One important thing to note is that even though the particles are entangled in quantum teleportation, the transfer of information is not superluminal (faster than the speed of light) due to the No-Communication theorem. So, the transfer of information is not instantaneous and hence it does not violate Special Relativity. |
|
|
So, why was the recent study such an achievement? Well, they managed to achieve a quantum teleportation with 90% accuracy over 44km. Before this, quantum teleportation had never been done with such accuracy over a large distance. Furthermore, the technology used in this study is compatible with emerging solid-state quantum devices which in theory, could be easily scaled up for commercial use. |
| A quantum teleportation node setup Credit: CQNET |
|
|
So, what does this all mean? Will we be able to instantly travel to another country using this? No. Will it allow Scotty to beam us up? Again no. But this study does give hope that with further developments and research into this area, we will be able to achieve super-fast quantum internet networks and communications in the future. It is also a promising step in the research of quantum computing and will hopefully revolutionize technology as we know it. |
|
|
Origami was an art that originated some time in the 6th century. This art was reserved for ceremonial purposes however, due to how rare and expensive paper was at the time. Origami cranes seemed to first appear around the 16th century, a whole millennium after paper folding was first introduced to Japan. Cranes were birds that the Japanese believed to be able to live up to a thousand years, and thus, they held a lot of respect for these creatures. Eventually, the cranes would come to symbolise peace. |
|
|
Origami cranes, while not the most basic of folds, is definitely one of the most common folds. Folding paper cranes wasnât actually popularised until the 20th century, however. It all started with Sadako Sasaki, the Hiroshima bombing, and a will to live against impossible odds. At the time of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Sadako was only two years old. Sheâd survive these bombings, although not without lasting effects. Due to the high levels of radiation she was exposed to, she would later be diagnosed with leukemia at age 11, and a month after she turned 12, she would be hospitalised. |
| |
|
While she was in hospital, sheâd hear about the story of the thousand paper cranes from her father. Legend had it that whoever folded a thousand paper cranes would have their wish granted to them. With that in mind, she set forward, determined to fold a thousand paper cranes to make her wish. Stuck in hospital without access to a constant flow of paper, she would scrounge up any material she could find so she could continue to fold; from her medicine wrappings to wrapping paper from her roommatesâ presents, she continued to collect and fold. |
|
|
| Sadako eventually passed away on the 25th of October, 1955, at the young age of 12. At the time she passed away, she had folded 1300 paper cranes, well exceeding her goal. Her friends and classmates would go on to fundraise in order to build her, and all the children who had died due to the atomic bomb, a memorial. In 1958 in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, a statue of Sadako holding a golden crane would be unveiled, along with a plaque that read: âThis is our cry. This is our prayer. Peace in the world.â |
|
|
Sadakoâs story would go on to inspire millions, and her paper cranes would be donated to places that needed healing. The very last crane she folded before her death would be put into a box and given to Clifton Truman Daniel, the grandson of the U.S. President Harry S. Truman, the man who ordered the Hiroshima atomic bombing. Daniel would be asked to keep this crane and spread a message of peace by the family of Sadako. 2020 was a terrible year, rife with grief, loss and sadness. Peace and hope are things that people look to more than ever as we move on into the new year. While Sadakoâs one thousand paper cranes did not grant her her wish, her determination and will to move past something terrible could do well to inspire us all. By treating everybody around us with kindness, we can work together to make 2021 a better year. |
Pictured: An origami crane memorial for coronavirus victims, created by Karla Funderburk |
|
|
UNSW Science Society is proud to announce our continued partnership with GradReady through 2020. GradReady provides GAMSAT Preparation courses for anyone looking to pursue Medicine after they graduate. This process starts earlier than you think, so if youâre studying medical science or just have that passion, check out what they have to offer! |
|
|
| |