They also synchronized the clocks between the two information points using quantum entanglement.

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Not only that, but, also in principle, it could be done without resorting to the complexities of quantum entanglement.

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The state of one of these photons was inextricably linked with that of the other through a process known as quantum entanglement.

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The behavior could let communications and storage take advantage of quantum entanglement, where particles can affect each other despite relatively long distances.

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Dr Shields's photon detector, however, permits cryptographers to use a phenomenon called quantum entanglement to make a repeater that does not destroy quantum states.

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"Quantum entanglement is valuable in transmitting particles such as atoms and photons where the most delicate properties are significant and where simple approximation is not enough, " he explains.

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In a new paper published last week in Physical Review Letters, researchers at the Niels Bohr Institute have published a method that allows for much more stable quantum entanglement, which may help pave the way for better quantum communication and quantum computing.

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It is certainly possible that entanglement is an important resource for running many quantum algorithms.

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The practical application here is that the ability to maintain entanglement for a long period of time is key to building real quantum information networks.

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