With the advent of glass fibers for network communication over long distances, researchers are looking for ways to slow down the speed of light traveling at a staggering rate of 300 million meters per second.

The reason for slowing it down is that light is a very useful tool for quantum communication and as a necessary condition for developing future worldwide quantum internet technology.

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A team of researchers and scientists from the Vienna University of Technology in Austria has found a way to slow down light by coupling cesium atoms to an ultrathin glass fiber.

With this method, they were able to slow down the speed to 180 kilometers per hour. They even managed to bring it to a complete standstill and later retrieved it.

"In our system, this effect is extreme, because we are creating an exceedingly strong interaction between light and matter," said Arno Rauschenbeutel, a professor at the university's Quantum Science and Technology.

"The speed of light in our glass fiber is only 180 kilometers per hour. Any express train can top that." Rauschenbeutel added.

In addition to coupling the atoms, the Viennese researchers also used a control-laser in their experiment to specifically couple high energy state to a third atomic state. With this, light can be retrieved in a controlled way.

"The interplay between these three quantum states prevents the photon from just being absorbed and randomly emitted." said the researchers.

"Instead, the photon's quantum information is transferred to an ensemble of atoms in a controlled way, and it can be stored there for some time."

"Quantum physics allows us to create a connection between sender and receiver, which makes eavesdropping impossible," Rauschenbeutel added.

"The fundamental laws of quantum physics make sure that no one can tap the connection without being noticed."

Danish researchers were also able to trap cesium atoms along an ultrathin glass fiber by cooling them down with a laser to almost absolute zero (minus 273 degrees Celsius).

Their experiment was conducted in the basement of the University of Copenhagen's Niels Bohr Institute.

TagsSpeed of light, Photons, Vienna University of Technology, Austria, Quantum Communication, Networks, Cesium Atoms, Glass Fiber