First universal programmable quantum computer unveiled

[n2doc]

18:00 15 November 2009 by Colin Barras

The world's first universal programmable quantum computer has been put through its paces. But the test program revealed significant hurdles that must be overcome before the device is ready for real work.

Earlier in the year, a team at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder, Colorado, built a quantum computer capable of processing two quantum bits, or qubits. Qubits store more information than the simple "on" or "off" bits of conventional computing, which means that a quantum computer outperform conventional computers in tasks such as cryptanalysis.

As in a classical computer, a series of logic gates processes the information – although here the gates are quantum logic, or qubit, gates. "For example, a simple single-qubit gate would change a 'one' to a 'zero' and vice versa," says David Hanneke, a member of the team. But unlike the physical logic gates of a classical computer, the quantum logic gates used in the team's device are each encoded into a laser pulse.

more:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18154-first-universal-programmable-quantum-computer-unveiled.html

[brooklynite]

1. But how well does it do web page developement?

And if I can't get it with a 27" screen and an Apple logo, I'm not interested....

[FightingIrish]

2. I think this is huge

My physics major son has been trying to explain quantum computing to me for some time. From what little I was able to absorb, I would say this could mean a huge leap forward.

[Aragorn]

3. it will

by4-16x (probably 4, if they can get it to work).

My 486 still processes faster than I can type though.

[caraher]

4. There are just a few "killer apps" in quantum computing

For most purposes it's just a lot of overhead, trying to fight off decoherence. The attraction is that there are a few algorithms that become more difficult as a gentler function of the size of the problem for a quantum computer than a conventional computer. Chief among these is factoring very large integers, the difficulty of which is the basis of public key encryption.

More may emerge, but it's hard to envision today much of an advantage over conventional computers for ordinary general-purpose use. That may change given the right breakthroughs, but we still haven't progressed much past factoring the number 15 in the 15 years since Shor's algorithm came out. Regular computing has improved far more than that over that time!

[Canuckistanian]

5. Heresy!

God meant for us to use silicon and electricity for computing. That's why there's so much sand and lightning in the world.

This is an abomination in the sight of the Lord. And there's probably a Biblical verse about it somewhere.

[Ready4Change]

6. Poppycock!

THe universe is chock full of quantum bits. This is how we've always been meant to compute.

(Warring sects! Get yer warring sects here!)

[Canuckistanian]

7. Balderdash!

All that is known has already been known since Sir Isaac Newton's day. Everything reduces to a complex game of billiards, nothing more.

Quantum Bundles? Schrodinger's Cat? Hilbert Space? General and Special Relativity? Bah!

Give me good old Classical Mechanics and Newton's Laws and I can explain the universe.

Now, where id I put that slide rule?

[Ready4Change]

8. You, sir, are proving my very point!

All that we can observe we have been observing since Newtons day. That is why quantum computing is actually Holy! Through it we communicate with the the unobservable through the power of miracles themselves!

Plus, I use lots of exclamation points! I MUST be right!