An intelligent alien civilization could beam quantum messages to Earth.
Particles of light, or photons, could be transmitted over vast, interstellar distances without losing their quantum nature, researchers report June 28 in Physical Review D. That means scientists searching for extraterrestrial signals could also look for quantum messages (SN: 1/28/19).
Scientists are currently developing Earth-based quantum communication, a technology that uses quantum particles to send information and has the potential to be more secure than standard, or classical, communication (SN: 6/15/17). Intelligent extraterrestrials, if they’re out there, may have also adopted quantum communication, says theoretical physicist Arjun Berera.
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