Re: How much can you say with a single photon?

Uncle Al wrote:
Tim Tyler wrote:

``How much can you say with a single photon? Classically, the
limit has been one bit of information (a choice of 0 or 1),
but by adding a quantum twist, physicists have now managed
to make a photon carry 1.63 bits.''

http://technology.newscientist.com/article/dn13522-twisting-light-packs-more-information-into-one-photon.html

One bit?!? Time of arrival does not transmit information?
It seems like a surprising omission.

Time of arrival depends on path, refractive index, and on evanescent
coupling to the cladding. Even single mode fibers have temporal
spread. One must be clever to keep a pulse compressed. Making a
single photon behave can't use statistics. Nasty.

And what about the spatial location of the photon? That also, obviously, can be used to transmit information.

This article made a mess of its premises.
--
__________
|im |yler http://timtyler.org/ tim@xxxxxxxxxxx Remove lock to reply.
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