June 16, 2006
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The Economist (05/04/06) Vol. 379, No. 8476, P. 79
As the miniaturization of computing components approaches the atomic scale, physical limitations will halt the process, forcing scientists to use alternative methods to improve performance. Scientists are looking to quantum computing as one possible solution, harnessing the quirky properties of quantum physics to perform a theoretically infinite number of calculations in parallel. While quantum computers hold the potential to solve problems that stymie existing computers, scientists have only been able to make very basic models that often work only in tightly defined conditions. The superposition of qubits is only preserved if they are isolated from external conditions, though researchers are working to resolve this problem. Andrew Briggs, an Oxford University neuroscientist, leads a team of scientists that successfully used the electrons of a caged nitrogen atom as a qubit, managing to keep it in superposition for 500 nanoseconds, longer than any other molecule previously studied, but not nearly long enough to perform a calculation. Another approach, advocated by Hitachi's David Williams, calls for using existing silicon chips to power quantum computers, manufacturing quantum dots on the chips' surface that would function as qubits. Other groups are developing techniques for oscillating electromagnetic waves to trap ions and use them as qubits. A fourth approach involves a recently discovered form of matter known as a Bose-Einstein condensate, which is cold enough to reduce atoms to their lowest quantum state, exciting the possibility that they could function as qubits in an environment where conditions close to absolute zero can be maintained.
For the complete article, see http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=6877077
Posted by rab5 at 11:21 PM
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