Iowa State Physicists Use Terahertz Light to Accelerate Supercurrents

(InComplianceMag) Iowa State University physicists have worked out a method for using terahertz light waves to accelerate supercurrents. This innovation has allowed them to demonstrate that it is possible to use light to control some of the essential quantum properties of superconducting states, and could be useful in the creation of incredibly fast quantum computers.
Terahertz light operates at extremely high frequencies and provides extremely powerful bursts of energy for very brief time frames. Superconductivity, meanwhile, describes the resistance-free movement of electricity through certain materials. In order to operate it requires supremely cold temperatures, as low as negative 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
All of this could prove very promising for the field of quantum computing. Scientists believe this technology could be used to increase the accuracy and efficiency of sensing, modeling, computing, and communication in future quantum computers. However, that is a long way off; first, scientists must learn to manipulate and control these behaviors — no easy task, and one that has proven challenging in the past.