Enhanced Sensitivity of Photodetection via Quantum Illumination

In his report in Science Magazine, MIT Professor of Mechanical Engineering and External Professor at Santa Fe Institute Seth Lloyd reports on his findings which show that a quantum-physics property called entanglement can be harnessed to make detectors--similar in principle to radar systems used to track airplanes in flight or ships at sea--that are as much as a million times more efficient than existing systems. In addition, beams of entangled light could be swept across a scene to reconstruct a detailed image, with a similar improvement in efficiency. In a year he believes it will be possible to build a laboratory-scale system to demonstrate the new concept. These new findings could improve military night vision systems, lower the x ray output form medical machines such as CT scans, and be used to create a safer microscope for living organisms.