Researchers claim quantum breakthrough

[FuzzyLumpkins]

I was going to post this in the Geek Zone but the developments in this area are probably going to end up being revolutionary. And you guys thought that mul hread programming already sucked.

Researchers claim quantum breakthrough

Thursday, 26 April 2012 Connor Duffy and staff
ABC
The NIST quantum simulator permits study of quantum systems that are difficult to study in the lab

The computing power of the crystal simulator far outstrips the capacity of today's classical computer (Source: Britton/NIST)
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Researchers say they have designed a tiny crystal that acts like a quantum computer so powerful it would take a computer the size of the known universe to match it.

Details of the crystal, which is made up of just 300 atoms, are published today in the journal Nature.

"Quantum computing is a kind of information science that is based on the notion that if one performs computations in a fundamentally different way than the way your classical desktop computer works," says study co-author University of Sydney's Dr Michael Biercuk.

"There's a huge potential to solve a variety of problems that are very, very hard or near impossible for standard computer."

The crystal simulator uses a property of quantum mechanics called superposition, where a quantum particle appears to be in two distinct states at the same time. This means the particle, known as a qubit, can be used to solve two equations simultaneously.

As the number of qubits increase, the number or states increases exponentially. For example, 2 qubits can simultaneously be in 4 states, 3 qubits in 8 states: 2 to the power of n states for n qubits.
Outstrips classical computers

According to Biercuk, the computing power of the 300-atom crystal simulator far outstrips the capacity of today's classical computer.

"It turns out that that computer would need to be the size of the known universe - which is clearly something that's not possible to achieve," he says.

Experts believe quantum computing is moving to a stage where it is so far out in front and performing such complex tasks it will be difficult to check if it is working accurately.

"They're not easily checked by a classical computer which opens a whole variety of problems," says Biercuk.

And he adds that there is still plenty of work to be done before quantum computers start appearing on desks in homes and offices.

"The central element is something like a millimetre in diameter, 300 atoms that are suspended in space," says Biercuk.

"But of course everything depends on a huge amount of technical infrastructure around it. There are vacuum chambers and pumps and lasers, and all of that takes up something like a room."

http://www.abc.net.au/science/articl...26/3489504.htm

They have also done work in terms of using quantum entanglement for communication:

http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/...n-qubit-routed

[CubanMustGo]

Oh , this is how it starts.

[RandomGuy]

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal...ture10981.html

The presence of long-range quantum spin correlations underlies a variety of physical phenomena in condensed-matter systems, potentially including high-temperature superconductivity1, 2. However, many properties of exotic, strongly correlated spin systems, such as spin liquids, have proved difficult to study, in part because calculations involving N-body entanglement become intractable for as few as N ≈ 30 particles3. Feynman predicted that a quantum simulator—a special-purpose ‘analogue’ processor built using quantum bits (qubits)—would be inherently suited to solving such problems4, 5. In the context of quantum magnetism, a number of experiments have demonstrated the feasibility of this approach6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, but simulations allowing controlled, tunable interactions between spins localized on two- or three-dimensional lattices of more than a few tens of qubits have yet to be demonstrated, in part because of the technical challenge of realizing large-scale qubit arrays. Here we demonstrate a variable-range Ising-type spin–spin interaction, Ji,j, on a naturally occurring, two-dimensional triangular crystal lattice of hundreds of spin-half particles (beryllium ions stored in a Penning trap). This is a computationally relevant scale more than an order of magnitude larger than previous experiments. We show that a spin-dependent optical dipole force can produce an antiferromagnetic interaction , where 0 ≤ a ≤ 3 and di,j is the distance between spin pairs. These power laws correspond physically to infinite-range (a = 0), Coulomb–like (a = 1), monopole–dipole (a = 2) and dipole–dipole (a = 3) couplings. Experimentally, we demonstrate excellent agreement with a theory for 0.05 ≲ a ≲ 1.4. This demonstration, coupled with the high spin count, excellent quantum control and low technical complexity of the Penning trap, brings within reach the simulation of otherwise computationally intractable problems in quantum magnetism.

um... what?

[cantthinkofanything]

I'm not going to read all that. I'll just wait for RaZon to chime in on the matter.

[I. Hustle]

I bet they make an iphone outta dett crystal imho.

[Landon Donofag]

Can someone provide a tl;dr version for those of us that dropped out of high school? thanks.

[cantthinkofanything]

Can someone provide a tl;dr version for those of us that dropped out of high school? thanks.

...OK, I'll try.

Researchers claim quantum breakthrough:

SCIENCE

the end

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Can someone provide a tl;dr version for those of us that dropped out of high school? thanks.

Sure.

Modern computers use individual transistors that are either turned on or off to represent the 1's and 0's in binary code. Each transistor thats actually used in design uses thousands of atoms.

This 'chip' uses single atoms and principles of quantum physics (re: left or right 'spin') to represent those 1's and 0's. From what i was reading they might represent other states which would allow for quadratic (re: base 4) computing.

If you want me to explain superposition I can try to do that as well.

[cantthinkofanything]

Sure.

Modern computers use individual transistors that are either turned on or off to represent the 1's and 0's in binary code. Each transistor thats actually used in design uses thousands of atoms.

This 'chip' uses single atoms and principles of theoretical physics known as quantum electro-dynamics (re: left or right 'spin') to represent those 1's and 0's. From what i was reading they might represent other states which would allow for quadratic (re: base 4) computing.

If you want me to explain superposition I can try to do that as well.

yeah. please do. we're all balls. i mean ears. we're all balls. whoops. we're all pubes. ...i mean we're all ears.

[cantthinkofanything]

lol at myself

[FuzzyLumpkins]

yeah. please do. we're all balls. i mean ears. we're all balls. whoops. we're all pubes. ...i mean we're all ears.

The quantum waves 'exist' in multiple states until measured. Then it shows up with various states like spin, charge etc. Its all that probability goodness that you may have read about.

When you measure a wave that comes out of a particular set of conditions it has a probability of showing at various energy levels and orientations.

Quantum entanglement which I am not sure how it is achieved makes two particles share the identical state. What they do here is entangle two particles and then create a state on one using optics. Thats what they were talking about in terms of ranges in RG's post and that in turn simultaneously puts the other particle into the same state even when not measured.

I have no idea how they produce logical constructs out of that. I know how to feedback voltages in transistors but i have no idea what they are doing here.

[MannyIsGod]

The amount of computing power this makes possible is pretty amazing. In essence, I wonder if this makes the universe computeable. That would be a pretty big mind .