On Thursday, August 23, 2001, at 03:17 PM, Faustine wrote:

Los Alamos develops quantum crypto system By Chappell Brown Electrical Engineering Times (08/23/01, 1:06 p.m. EST)

LOS ALAMOS, N.M.  Engineers at Los Alamos National Laboratory have developed what they believe is a practical quantum cryptographic system. The system features two portable units that can encrypt and decrypt information transmitted via photons. Experiments have shown that encryption keys can be sent via free-space transmission at distances of up to 6 miles. The system could be used to ensure safe communications between satellites.

Quantum cryptography uses the fundamental law of quantum mechanics: Any observation of a system changes its state. Since photons are elementary particles, they are subject to the law. If a third party attempts to "tune in" to the encrypted transmission, the quantum state of the photons will change, allowing the eavesdropping to be detected.

Faustine is becoming the new Jim Choate, regurgitating old topics, lecturing us on what she/he/it thinks we don't know, and forwarding items which were stale years ago. Clue: This list is not just a dumping ground for anything with the word "crypto" in it. Metaclue: get a clue. ObFaustineWhine/Predictable: "Some of us are Important Researchers, being paid to sit in our cubicles and surf the Net. Just because we learned about this list last month does not mean we don't have the _right_ to forward everything we learn about crypto to this list!" --Tim May