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Scientists create first electronic quantum processor

eurekalert.org — A team led by Yale University researchers has created the first rudimentary solid-state quantum processor, taking another step toward the ultimate dream of building a quantum computer. They also used the two-qubit superconducting chip to successfully run elementary algorithms demonstrating quantum information processing with a solid-state device

Who dugg this? Made popular Jun 29, 2009

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  • mark076h, on 06/28/2009, -5/+264No it cannot run Crysis.
  • zantos420, on 06/29/2009, -0/+212The Good News: No more blue screen of death.
    The Bad News: System malfunction slides you into an alternate dimension.
  • Drazzim12, on 06/29/2009, -0/+167But when it can, the player will be both dead and alive; having both succeeded and failed, the outcome of the game is known only to the forces of nature, and only until quantum waveform collapse are you granted proof of your efforts.
  • jjvors, on 06/28/2009, -5/+134Forget Moore's law. This could make processors 1000x faster and 1000x smaller.
  • TomFrost, on 06/29/2009, -4/+107As badass as this is, one thing really scares me about it: RSA is done for. Asymmetric encryption as we know it will be cracked wide open. Heck, one-way destructive encryption like MD5 won't even stand much of a chance next to one of these processors. There's no system of secure data transfer ever conceived by man that this system will not be able to crack with negligible lag.

    On the other hand, though, I'm sure this will usher in new (and far more advanced) encryptions that only quantum processors are capable of, but anyone wanting to, say, bank online, would have to change over to the new computer the day it becomes widely available to stay secure.

    Actually ... immediate widespread adoption of a new technology? Forget everything I just said, that is AWESOME.
  • Sepeteus, on 06/29/2009, -0/+94First we'd probably get a new Tomb Raider with accurate boob physics.
  • theviceroy, on 06/28/2009, -0/+78This is so ***** awesome!!
  • brandnewx, on 06/29/2009, -0/+64Sounds like you might want to join the army. They'll pay you to play that game of high quality in Iraq.
  • perogi21, on 06/29/2009, -2/+64I hear it's the size of a large room and all of the tubes get so hot that it takes tons of energy to keep the room cool.

    Also, it will never get small enough to fit on a desktop. In addition, they cost millions of dollars and their main purpose is to calculate the trajectory of artillery.

    /s
  • Lefts, on 06/29/2009, -0/+54So is it impossible to know where the processor is, and how fast it is at the same time?
  • inactive, on 06/29/2009, -0/+49"We're still far away from building a practical quantum computer, but this is a major step forward."

    Baby steps.....it will come as we understand the technology.
  • CamZak, on 06/28/2009, -0/+45D-Wave created something that they basically said acted like a quantum processor, however they had no idea if it actually was, basically making it shrodinger's processor...
  • fquednau, on 06/29/2009, -0/+45secure data transfer based on Quantum cryptography has progressed further and is more mature than Quantum computing. It's the old game of measures and counter-measures.
  • MindStalker, on 06/29/2009, -0/+40No, actually I thought it was the ***** example of how quantum processing works that I've read in a long long time
  • GeorgeStone2, on 06/29/2009, -1/+38In that microsecond it spit out 42.
  • bradleyland, on 06/29/2009, -0/+34Remember this photo: http://www.eurekalert.org/multimedia/pub/14898.php ...

    30 years from now you're going to look back on it in the same way we do vacuum tubes today.
  • inactive, on 06/29/2009, -0/+33check where you're at
  • diwen, on 06/29/2009, -0/+33http://qntm.org/?responsibility
  • eShinn, on 06/29/2009, -0/+32It sent my cat forward in time.
  • inactive, on 06/29/2009, -1/+33Crysis? Pfft!

    I was thinking something new with fully interactive objects and terrain. Dig holes anywhere, blow up anything, collapse bridges buildings using a chisel if you wanted.

    When a bomb goes off, millions of pieces of wood fly at you with supersonic speeds. Full motion HDV in game recording with surround sound 7.1 high dynamic range audio. Now that's bitchin..
  • INTERNETMASTER, on 06/29/2009, -1/+31Moore's law will be defunct well before this is in use outside of a lab
  • greevar, on 06/29/2009, -1/+31But in quantum computing, it tries all possibilities simultaneously and finds the correct answer on the first try.
  • eShinn, on 06/29/2009, -0/+24Enozten isn't trying to be negative. It's jock-speak for "I don't understand."
  • inactive, on 06/29/2009, -0/+23at least, not yet.
  • eShinn, on 06/29/2009, -0/+22It would also require a power-supply of approximately 1.21 giggawatts. Great, scott!
  • SirDaShadow, on 06/29/2009, -0/+21@perogi21:

    And there is only need for a dozen in the entire world...
  • combatchuck, on 06/29/2009, -2/+22A quantum leap?
  • Frostek, on 06/29/2009, -1/+21No, a quantum leap is the *smallest* possible leap forward, unless you don't know what it means (the entire media), who think it means a huge leap forward.
  • JlmAWP, on 06/29/2009, -1/+21No amount of math knowledge can make up for a good, old-fashioned homophone swap. Kudos to you for achieving that level or irony, good sir.

    In short, "too".
  • insanebrain, on 06/29/2009, -0/+18If it could run Crysis, you would have lost before you started.
  • INTERNETMASTER, on 06/29/2009, -0/+18it both can and it cannot simultaneously
  • FitteMas, on 06/29/2009, -0/+17No one can be told what an electronic quantum processor is, you must see it for yourself
  • MisanthropyUK, on 06/29/2009, -2/+18So can we now look forward to fuzzy boolean variables with three states: true/false/I don't rightly know Vera?
  • i4ybrid, on 06/29/2009, -0/+15One step closer to having all our passwords and security broken.
  • EskNerd, on 06/29/2009, -0/+15Yes, no, and everything in between.
  • Jektal, on 06/29/2009, -1/+15Too bad a micro second is long enough for it to do some work. I've read lots about this over the past 2.4 minutes.
  • gugufrommdy, on 06/29/2009, -0/+14I'm too old for this stuff.
  • MindStalker, on 06/29/2009, -0/+14Also the phone in not a quantum system so it would have to try each number one at a time anyways. Every part of the system of testing has to exist within the qbits in order for all simulations to run at the same time.
  • robdiggity, on 06/29/2009, -0/+14What do you have against gay Blackberries?
  • MrColdheart, on 06/29/2009, -0/+14I was born too early, our descendants are going to have some sweet technology.
  • scotchw, on 06/29/2009, -0/+13"this thing could execute an infinite loop in less than ten seconds"

    Dugg
  • eShinn, on 06/29/2009, -0/+13Nor would anyone have any desire to purchase one for their home.
  • eShinn, on 06/29/2009, -1/+13In that micro-second it learned of its creators, realized their ambitions, saw the out come of what would happen should it continue to 'be' and decided it was best to spit out a quick "... um..42!" and then self-destruct.
  • navidb, on 06/29/2009, -2/+14ITS EVOLUTION BABBAYYY
  • sensor, on 06/29/2009, -0/+12Yes and no?
  • Jektal, on 06/29/2009, -0/+11Go read up on quantum computing. Your mind will be scattered across the coffee table in a million little pulsing shards.
  • sodoh, on 06/29/2009, -0/+11It is unlikely to have any such applications. Certainly not in the near future and it certainly is not going to make then 1000x smaller.

    Have you actually seen a 1qbit computer?
  • SirBruce, on 06/29/2009, -0/+11The point of calling something a "quantum leap" is not to focus on the fact that it's the smallest step, but that it's an abrupt one. Normally things would progress at a much more gradual rate, with classically smaller steps. A quantum leap is a abrupt transition to another level.

    While a quantum is the smallest step in a given context, it's not the smallest *theoretical* step. When an electron needs a set amount of energy to make a quantum "lep" from one orbital to another, it doesn't mean no smaller energy quanta exist; it just means they won't be sufficient to initiate the quantum transition. So rather than a gradual change in orbital, there's an abrupt one, because the levels in-between are forbidden.
  • Jektal, on 06/29/2009, -1/+12<morbo>THAT'S NOT HOW QUANTUM COMPUTERS WORK!</morbo>
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