Qubits
Researchers at IBM have moved one step closer to practical quantum computing by extending the coherence of qubits (the quantum equivalent of a bit) to about 100 microseconds - a leap of roughly a factor of 25 over the previous record. I can hear you yawning, but here's a pretty dramatic description of the potential of quantum computing if it can be made to work:
Of course there are engineering obstacles, such as the necessity of maintaining the quantum hardware at about one degree above absolute zero. But once a concept is proven as workable, engineering is simply the juxtaposition of available materials, funding, and desire. If it becomes a reality, a quantum computer will almost certainly be a large (and hideously expensive) mainframe-style device. But that single quantum computer would have more raw computational power than the total combined potential of every electronic computer ever made.
At the application level, very complex mathematical problems could be solved in literally a tiny fraction of the time required by electronic computers. An example would be the extraordinarily complex calculations required to form a stable, controllable fusion reaction inside a magnetic field, (a fusion reactor, in other words).
More interestingly, some problems at the very leading edge of scientific theory which we can't yet properly address would suddenly draw within reach. Example: practical application of warp field theory. There's a group of mathematicians at Stanford and elsewhere who have been working on it for years, but the math is complex beyond our current ability to process it. Scotty needs a quantum computer before he can fire up the warp engines, Cap'n.
(And if you just snorted at the idea of faster-than-light, warp drive powered spaceships as a reality, take that smartphone out of your pocket and look at it closely. It's cheap, mass-produced, and it puts Captain Kirk's communicator to shame. The Star Trek device was pure fantasy when Gene Roddenberry thought it up in 1966.)
Classical computing, as you probably know, is based on the bit. A bit can exist in one of two possible states, which are typically referred to as “0″ or “1″. A qubit is the equivalent of a bit for quantum computing. It can be in three possible states – “0″ or “1″ or both. The “both” state is known as the superposition. Now, the difference may seem subtle, but mathematically, it’s huge. A few hundred qubits can contain more classical bits of information than the the universe has atoms.
Of course there are engineering obstacles, such as the necessity of maintaining the quantum hardware at about one degree above absolute zero. But once a concept is proven as workable, engineering is simply the juxtaposition of available materials, funding, and desire. If it becomes a reality, a quantum computer will almost certainly be a large (and hideously expensive) mainframe-style device. But that single quantum computer would have more raw computational power than the total combined potential of every electronic computer ever made.
At the application level, very complex mathematical problems could be solved in literally a tiny fraction of the time required by electronic computers. An example would be the extraordinarily complex calculations required to form a stable, controllable fusion reaction inside a magnetic field, (a fusion reactor, in other words).
More interestingly, some problems at the very leading edge of scientific theory which we can't yet properly address would suddenly draw within reach. Example: practical application of warp field theory. There's a group of mathematicians at Stanford and elsewhere who have been working on it for years, but the math is complex beyond our current ability to process it. Scotty needs a quantum computer before he can fire up the warp engines, Cap'n.
(And if you just snorted at the idea of faster-than-light, warp drive powered spaceships as a reality, take that smartphone out of your pocket and look at it closely. It's cheap, mass-produced, and it puts Captain Kirk's communicator to shame. The Star Trek device was pure fantasy when Gene Roddenberry thought it up in 1966.)
posted by Jar(egg)head at 16:38
1 Comments:
Yes, I snorted, largely because of Einstein's Special and General Relativity theories. FTL, pshaw! Warp drive, perhaps, once we figure out how to handle the energy requirements. Nailing down large-scale calculations would certainly make that reasonable.
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