The mechanism transfers a single qubit of quantum state information from a group of atoms to a photon. The photon can be transmitted over a distance, and the quantum information subsequently restored to a different set of atoms. This ability is crucial to both secure quantum communication and quantum computing, and it represents a significant breakthrough.

Quantum communication is considered to be the ultimate in privacy because it’s impossible to read quantum state data without changing it. Thus, if the line is tapped in any way, the receiver will know about it. This breakthrough demonstrates it’s possible to perform quantum communication in the real world.

Quantum computing, which is able to easily solve certain types of “impossible” problems, including modern encryption, also requires a mechanism to store, read, and write quantum state information. This breakthrough provides a primitive mechanism to do just that.

Source: New Scientist, Georgia Institute of Technology, Nature Dec. 8, 2005 page 834 and page 837