The Dream of Quantum
中国梦 量子梦
Contents:
1. The Importance of Millitary Communitcation
2. Chinese Achievements In Quantum
4. Sources
Author of the Art of War, Sun Tzu, Standing Beside a Beautiful Maiden
A nation's success in military operations often rises and falls on the basis of how well it communicates. When a nation does not secure its communications effectively, its enemies intercept and read its communications and win thereby military and diplomatic advantage. The Chinese are well aware of this fact. From the book, the Art of War (孙子兵法), written by Sun Tzu (孙子) states that one must create unity and gain the advantage with tactical communication to gain victory.
April 17, 1895, China suffered a decisive humilliating defeat, lossing the First Sino-Japanese War to little Japan. Many people, till today, assumed that a failed Self-Strengthening Movement and a successful Meiji Restoration was the reason behind the defeat. However the history proved them wrong. China suffered a decisive defeat because Japanese cryptographers had decoded Li Hongzhang’s military communications, since June 1894. With Chinese comunication intercepted the Japanese completely knew the entire situation of the Chinese Army, giving a sure Japanese victory.
Despite the Chinese ground forces being better armed, the Japanese knew every move and strategy on the Chinese side, leaving no chances for the Chinese to win. So how and why were Japanese able to decode the Chinese military communication? August 1, 1886, China's Beiyang Fleet paid a formail visit to Nagasaki, Japan. Japanese military representatives were astonished to see how much more modern were the Chinese warships when compared with their own. During the stay, the locals were not all that friendly. August 13,1886, Japanese police and samaries made a sudden attack on the Chinese soldiers. Two days later the Chinese Troops were attacked by Japanese policemen and samaries again. These confrontations between the Chinese soldiers and the Japanese was know as the Nagasaki Incident. During this event one of the Chinese soldiers dropped a book. A Japanese man named Wu Oogoro picked up the book. It was a Beiyang Navy sailor's dictionary which was marked with 0-9 between the Chinese characters. The Japanese intelligence department subsequently analysed these characters and figures and realized it was a guide to decipher the Qing codes. In order to completely crack the code, Japanese Foreign Minister Mutsu Munemitsu deliberately provided a writing in Chinese characters of the moderate length to the Qing ambassador Wang Feng Cao. As Japanese people were familiar with Chinese characters, the Japan Telecom legation successfully intercepted the telegram sent by the embassy to Zongli Yamen, within one day. Sato Yoshimaro, a
bureaucrat in the telecom legation used this kanji (what Japanese call Chinese characters) text with known content to crack the Qing code giving the Japanese advantage to ensure victory the First Sino-Japanese war. From the lessons of defeat China has been scientifically developing not only more efficent communication technology but also difficult to intercept into leading the nation in to the Dream of Quantum.
Among the 1st Chinese Pioneers in the quantum field is Daniel Chee Tsui (崔琦). Tsui joined Bell Laboratories, in 1968, where he spent 13 years, conducting research in solid-state electronics. In 1982, Tsui dicovered the Fractional Quantum Hall Effect (分数量子霍尔效应) in the transportation properties of two-dimensional electron gases, while experimenting at low temperatures in powerful magnectic fields. Tsui's discovery to the development of the high electron
The Nagasaki Incident, when a Chinese Sailor Dropped the Dictionary which the Japanese Would Use to Intercept the Qing Telegraphy Code
mobility transistors, now widely used in our smartphones. Shortly after the discovery of the Fractional Quantum Hall Effect, Tsui was appointed Professor of Electrical Engineering at Princeton University. In 1998, Tsui was awarded the Nobels Prize for the discovery of the Fractional Quantum Hall Effect.
China is seeking to unlock the science of quantum cryptography and computing, which many experts believe will one day revolutionize computerized security. With China’s ongoing push to modernize its military and advancing to become a global innovative force, success in this area could materialize into an enormous economic and military advantage.
The idea of creating a quantum computer has been around the world since the 1970s. These computers would be extremely powerful since they can harness quantum properties. In 2001, Guo Guangcan, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, established the Key Laboratory of Quantum Information at the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei. The laboratory became the most important research center of quantum information in the nation. January 2006, Guo predicted that the 1st quantum computer
The Chinese Telegraphy Code, Intercepted by the Japan
would likely be developed in the next 15 to 20 years. In 2007, Dr. Pan Jianwei, director of the Division of Quantum Physics and Quantum Information at Hefei’s National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, optimistically predicted that the China might be the 1st to develop a quantum computer. A 2010 article quoted Pan saying: "Quantum communication is more important for China because it is already closer to application than developing a quantum computer, although the latter is still very attractive to me.” February 2013, a Chinese report emerged touting a breakthrough in trying to achieve the quantum computer: “The solid-state quantum research crew from the University of Science and Technology of China succeeded in performing the quantum logic gate operation on one single electron at 10 picoseconds, renewing the previous world records by nearly 100 times.”10 Prior to China’s achievement, “U.S. and Japanese research institutes achieved the electrically controlled semiconductor logic gate at 1,000 picoseconds.” China’s achievement, however, increased the
operational speed by nearly 100 times to 10 picoseconds. According to Guo Guoping, director of the research project: "China has launched the solid-state quantum chip project in efforts to gain a foothold in the global competition in the next-generation computer chips. . . . The quantum chip . . . will make the quantum computer characterized by exponentially increased operational speed and greatly improved data processing capabilities."
China has touted a number of successful experiments in the area of quantum communication. In 2004, the Key Laboratory of Quantum Information reportedly completed a 125-km fiber point-to-point QKD experiment. This experiment, according to Chinese reports, “solved the problem of stability in quantum cryptography systems.” November 2005, China lead the United States, France, and Austria in quantum entanglement research. The nation provided an “experimental demonstration of five-photon entanglement and open-destination teleportation.” The more photons that can be successfully entangled, the higher the accuracy of the transmission. In 2006, China fulfilled quantum teleportation of a two-particle system. Voting results at the Chinese Academy of Sciences showed that 565 academics chose it as the ninth most significant development that year in the country’s science-technology sector. In 2007, a report
stated that China had created a quantum router, which they claimed was the first in the world. The router was said to have succeeded in encrypting data flowing between four computers on a commercial communications system. The router is different from point-to-point transmissions conducted in other parts of the world because it makes a quantum network possible. Then, in May 2009, a report emerged in the Chinese press claiming that the country has built the world’s 1st quantum encrypted government network and that its trial operation in Wuhu City, Anhui Province, served eight government departments in Wuhu. Scientists in China in 2012 reportedly teleported multiple photons 97 km across a lake within the country. This significant experiment puts China one step closer to achieving global transmission of quantum communications. Scientists would eventually like to use satellites to achieve global
The Quantum Sattlelite Undergoing Testing and Inspection in the Laboratory
transmission of quantum communications. The distance that a quantum key can be sent through free space depends on which direction it is traveling. Traveling straight up toward space, it can go farther due to the integrated air mass (that is, the air becomes less dense). China recognizes that “by using satellites, ultra-long-distance quantum communication and tests of quantum foundations could be achieved on a global scale.” By 2016, China plans to launch the first “Chinese Quantum Science Satellite,” a satellite dedicated to quantum experiments, which according to China Daily would put the nation ahead of both the United States and Europe. According to Pan, “The satellite will provide scientific answers to the feasibility of intercontinental quantum teleportation—to make it simple, whether I can talk to my friend in Vienna from Beijing on a quantum phone.”
China has also recognized the potential power of quantum communications, and there is evidence indicating it is researching the possibilities at a higher level. Reports reveal that the National University of Defense Technology has been conducting quantum information technology research since the 1990s. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has clearly taken an interest in quantum communications because other institutions are also studying the topic. For example, the PLA’s University of Science and Technology
Video on the World's First Quantum Communications Satellite
(PLAUST) reportedly opened 11 new research directions in 2011, to include quantum communication technology. Some researchers believe that quantum communications, along with cloud computing, intelligence optic networks, and high-speed satellite communications, provide asymmetric operational superiority for military forces and generate new types of combat power.
August 16 2016, China finally successfully lauched its very own invention to space, the world's 1st ever quantum satellite (量子卫星). The lauching took place at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern Gobi Desert at 1:40 a.m Beijing time. In a cloud of thick smoke, the satellite, Quantum Experiments at Space Scale (QUESS), roared into the dark sky on top of a Long March-2D rocket. The 600-plus-kilogram satellite would circle the Earth once every 90
minutes after it enters a sun synchronous orbit at an altitude of 500 kilometers. The sattlelite is nicknamed "Micius" after a fifth century B.C. Chinese philosopher and scientist who has been credited as the 1st in human history to conduct optical experiments. Within its two-year mission, QUESS is designed to establish "hack-proof" quantum communications by transmitting uncrackable keys from space to the ground, and provide insights into the strangest phenomenon in quantum physics -- quantum entanglement. Quantum communication boasts ultra-high security as a quantum photon can neither be separated nor duplicated. It is hence impossible to wiretap, intercept or crack theinformation transmitted through it. With the help of the new satellite, scientists will be able to test quantum key distribution between the satellite and ground stations, and conduct secure quantum communications between Beijing and Xinjiang's Urumqi. QUESS would also beam entangled photons to two earth stations, 1,200 kilometers apart, in a move to test quantum entanglement over a greater distance, as well as test quantum teleportation between a ground station in Ali, Tibet, and itself. "The newly-launched satellite marks a transition in China's role -- from a follower in classic information technology (IT) development to one of the leaders guiding future IT achievements," said Pan Jianwei, chief scientist of QUESS project with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). The scientists are expecting quantum communications to fundamentally change human development in the next two or three decades, as there are enormous prospects for applying the new generation of communication in fields like defense, military and finance.
Sources:
First Sino-Japanese War - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nagasaki incident - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Asian American History and Culture: An Encyclopedia - Huping Ling, Allan W. Austin - Google Books
Daniel C. Tsui - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Quantum Leap into Computing and Communication: A Chinese Prespective
Xinhua Insight: China launches first-ever quantum communication satellite - Xinhua | English.news.cn