However, the modern information network wasn\u2019t built overnight, and if the quantum internet needed its own bespoke infrastructure<\/a>, scaling up such a technology could take years or even decades to make a discernible impact. But in recent months, there\u2019s been growing evidence that the quantum internet could just… use the hardware we already have for classical computers. <\/p>\n Related Story<\/p>\n Earlier this year, scientists from Northwestern University teleported a quantum particle using public internet infrastructure<\/a>. Now, a new study led by scientists at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) have transferred quantum signals along a local Verizon fiber optic<\/a> network using the same Internet Protocol (IP) that forms the backbone of today\u2019s internet. The results of the study were published in the journal Science<\/a>. <\/p>\n To achieve this, the team led by Penn materials science and engineering professor Liang Feng, created what they call a \u201cQ-Chip,\u201d which coordinates both classical and quantum data<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cBy showing an integrated chip can manage quantum signals on a live commercial network like Verizon\u2019s, and do so using the same protocols that run the classical internet, we\u2019ve taken a key step toward larger-scale experiments and a practical quantum internet<\/a>,\u201d Feng, the senior author of the study, said in a press statement<\/a>. <\/p>\n For the quantum internet to work, preservation of the quantum state is key. Otherwise the qubits decohere and just become classic bits. This is a problem, however, as normal information networks measure data to route packets to the correct destination\u2014with qubits, that would destroy the quantum state. So, Feng and his team developed an ingenious workaround. The team sends classical signals ahead of the entangled information, kind of a like a classical locomotive<\/a> tugging along sealed quantum cargo, so that information can be read in the classical stream while leaving the quantum one untouched. <\/p>\n \u201cThe classical \u2018header\u2019 acts like the train\u2019s engine, while the quantum information<\/a> rides behind in sealed containers [\u2026]. You can\u2019t open the containers without destroying what\u2019s inside, but the engine ensures the whole train gets where it needs to go,\u201d Yichi Zhang, lead author of the study and doctoral student at Penn, said in a press statement. \u201cBy embedding quantum information in the familiar IP framework, we showed that a quantum internet could literally speak the same language as the classical one. That compatibility is key to scaling using existing infrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n Related Story<\/p>\n Of course, there are other challenges that arise when any technology is taken outside the lab. Gone are the predictable conditions of a laboratory<\/a> setting, and in its place are chaotic systems subject to temperature, weather, and other human activities. But, once again, because the classical \u201cengine\u201d can be measured, the team can extrapolate an interference that impacts the quantum signal as a form of error correction. Once tested, the system yielded fidelities of 97 percent in real-world conditions. <\/p>\n This doesn\u2019t mean our classical internet will transform into a quantum one overnight. One major barrier still remains\u2014quantum information can\u2019t be amplified by repeaters like classical information, as this method would destroy quantum entanglement. This limitation makes it hard to scale such a quantum network beyond a city, let alone to the entire world, but the authors note that demonstrating that quantum information can be sent along existing internet hardware using easily mass-produceable silicon<\/a> chips is a big step forward. <\/p>\n