/////////////////////
Quantum computer works best switched offPosted by glenn under Info Tech
New Scientist, via Slashdot, reports:
Even for the crazy world of quantum mechanics, this one is twisted. A quantum computer program has produced an answer without actually running.
The idea behind the feat, first proposed in 1998, is to put a quantum computer into a “superposition”, a state in which it is both running and not running. It is as if you asked Schrödinger’s cat to hit “Run”.
With the right set-up, the theory suggested, the computer would sometimes get an answer out of the computer even though the program did not run. And now researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have improved on the original design and built a non-running quantum computer that really works.They send a photon into a system of mirrors and other optical devices, which included a set of components that run a simple database search by changing the properties of the photon.
The new design includes a quantum trick called the Zeno effect. Repeated measurements stop the photon from entering the actual program, but allow its quantum nature to flirt with the program’s components - so it can become gradually altered even though it never actually passes through.
“It is very bizarre that you know your computer has not run but you also know what the answer is,” says team member Onur Hosten.
This scheme could have an advantage over straightforward quantum computing. “A non-running computer produces fewer errors,” says Hosten. That sentiment should have technophobes nodding enthusiastically.
Journal reference: Nature (vol 439, p 949)
From issue 2540 of New Scientist magazine, 22 February 2006, page 21
-->
/////////////////////Everything was beautiful, and nothing hurt.”
- Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five
///////////////////The master orders the man, the man orders the cat, and the cat orders her tail.~Proverb, (Portuguese)~
/////////////////////MA NATURE
/////////////////////DISASTER MANAGEMENT+ Bangladesh steps up earthquake response plans Dhaka (AFP) June 24, 2008 - The earthquake that devastated China's Sichuan province last month has prompted Bangladeshi authorities to step up contingency plans in the quake-prone South Asian nation, an official said Tuesday. Fire Service and Civil Defence director major Motihur Rahman told AFP that 62,000 volunteers would be trained to deal with quakes and other natural disasters. "We've seen the damage caused by ... more
/////////////////////////WATER WORLD+ The northern Aral Sea returns to life in Kazakhstan The Kokaral Dam, Kazakhstan (AFP) June 24, 2008 - Fisherman Khaldan Kolzhanov's eyes fill with emotion at the sound of the seagulls and the sight of the small waves lapping at the beach. Here in this corner of southwest Kazakhstan, thanks to the Kokaral dam, vast expanses of sand and salt have finally disappeared. "Seventeen of the 30 types of Aral Sea fish live there again. My 25-year-old son is learning my trade now," says Kolzhanov ... more
////////////////////The Viability of Extremely Premature Infants in the Past Decade
Summary and Comment Subscription Required
In a U.K. study, survival rates of infants born at 24 and 25 weeks increased during the past decade, but rates remained low for infants born at younger gestational ages.
/////////////////////PICK OR NICK
////////////////Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Might Occur Before Adolescence
Summary and Comment Subscription Required
This report suggests that CFS can affect children as young as age 2 years and that young children can be as severely affected as older children.
///////////////////////
No comments:
Post a Comment