Harvard University researchers have succeeded in bringing practical quantum computers one step closer to reality by storing qubits (quantum bits) in a memory and retrieving them later, without having to observe, and therefore invalidate, their values. The first step, demonstrated last year, was the ability to store a laser-encoded signal in the spin states of atoms and then nondestructively read them back out.

The next step: demonstrate that quantum information is preserved by the store/retrieval process, creating essentially a quantum “repeater.”

Over the next five years, Walsworth’s group plans to develop ultrasecure quantum-based messaging.

Their research is part of a larger program attempting to harness quantum mechanics to create uncrackable codes, photonic quantum memories and eventually, superfast quantum supercomputers.