Originally posted by twhiteheadThey don't HAVE to be visible photons, maybe they are using longer wavelengths like IR or lower, maybe even high gigahertz waves. It has to be SOME kind of photon, the only question is the wavelength.
I don't understand how it would work. How would a single photon be sent through the atmosphere to a ground station without ever interacting with anything else? Or do they send lots of photons and somehow communicate back which particular ones they have received?
Originally posted by twhiteheadIt might be like you said, millions of photons simultaneously and the ones intact used at the other end.
I realise that, but the question still stands. Can you send photons of any kind, from space to a receiver without any interaction, or am I misunderstanding something?
I know it is possible to send this kind of photon through optical fiber at least a hundred kilometers which of course is a lot milder transmission media than atmosphere but the Chinese have claimed to be able to do so.
Of course they may be just lying and having a belly laugh at the hooplaw generated.
Originally posted by twhiteheadThere already has been relatively long distance work like this:
I don't understand how it would work. How would a single photon be sent through the atmosphere to a ground station without ever interacting with anything else? Or do they send lots of photons and somehow communicate back which particular ones they have received?
http://phys.org/news/2012-09-km-physicists-quantum-teleportation-distance.html
Laser beam through the atmosphere 143 km apart.