Stopping light a quantum leap for ANU

Physicists at the Australian National University (ANU) have successfully completed an experiment to stop light, similar to the way Kylo Ren used the force to stop a laser blast. Jesse Everett from the Research School of Physics and Engineering (RSPE) and Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology at ANU, said controlling the movement of light was a critical step in developing future quantum computers. "Optical quantum computing is still a long way off, but our successful experiment to stop light gets us further along the road," Everett said. "It's pretty amazing to look at a sci-fi movie and say we actually did something that's a bit like that." Everett said quantum computers based on light could connect easily with communication technology such as optic fibres and had potential applications in fields such as medicine, defence, telecommunications, and financial services.