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Tag: quantum computers

  • The NSA Wants To Build A Quantum Computer

    Quantum computing is the next big thing, or at least it is in the eyes of futurists and scientists. The proposed technology promises faster compute speeds beyond anything currently available. The crazy thing is that we’re almost there, and that’s mostly a good thing. The only concern is that quantum computing may be used for purposes that don’t benefit mankind in the slightest, and of course the NSA is at the forefront of that endeavor.

    The Washington Post reports that the NSA is working on a quantum computer that would be able to crack nearly every type of encryption currently available. The plans, which were revealed in documents leaked by Edward Snowden, detail a $79.7 million research program dedicated to the creation of a quantum computer.

    So, what is a quantum computer? In short, a quantum computer is a computing machine that’s built on the theory of quantum mechanics. As the Washington Post explains, a quantum computer is unlike a traditional computer in that it communicates using quantum bits which can exist as zeroes and ones simultaneously. Theoretically, this would allow a computer to reach a solution much more quickly.

    As you can imagine, a quantum computer would be a major benefit to nearly everyone, including the NSA. It’s already been shown that the NSA broke the encryption protocols employed by the big guys at Google and Yahoo. Upon that revelation, both companies moved to employ new encryption methods that could take the NSA months to crack. With a quantum computer, they could theoretically reduce the time needed to crack new encryption methods to just a few weeks.

    A quantum computer in the hands of the NSA is a pretty scary thought, but it’s nowhere near completion yet. The leaked documents show that the agency is making steady progress, but its own efforts are only matching the pace seen in public quantum computing projects in Europe. Barring a significant breakthrough, those quantum computers are still years away, and the NSA’s own quantum computer is likely still just in the experimental stage at this point.

    Regardless, the mere fact that the NSA is building a quantum computer is cause for concern. Quantum computers will one day benefit humanity in many ways, but its unfortunate that the technology might also be abused.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Kaku Explains the Future of Computing Power

    Moore’s Law says that computer Power doubles every 18 months. However this “guideline” is in the process of breaking down. The limits of silicon technology are becoming apparent and new technology will need to be developed in order for computing power to progress.

    As theoretical physicist Michio Kaku says, computing power simply cannot continue at the exponential rate Moore’s law predicts. Sooner, rather than later, pentium chips won’t get any smaller. Once they get down to about 5 nanometers, they overheat, and dual and quad cores will eventually not be enough.

    He predicts these limitations on silicon do not necessarily mean the end for Moore’s Law. Eventually non-silicon computing will take-over and the rapid growth of processing power will continue.

    Kaku puts his money on using optical, three dimensional, and parallel chips in the near future (in the next ten years), and other technologies in the future. This ten year span will hopefully be enough to lay the groundwork for a switch over to post-silicon technologies.

    He continues to expound on what he thinks will happen in the post-silicon era. Molecular computing and eventually quantum computing will take over as Moore’s Law breaks down. Apparently, to Kaku, protein and DNA computers are not in our future, since some of the basis for molecular computing is already in existence.

    [Source: Big Think via Gizmodo]

  • German Scientists Make Iron Transparent

    Scientists at DESY have made iron transparent.

    Well, let’s back up a moment.

    DESY is the Deutsches Elektronen Synchrotron, or “German Electron Synchrotron”, the biggest German research center for particle physics. What they have been working on there is making atomic nuclei transparent with the help of X-ray light. At the same time they have also discovered a new way to realize an optically controlled light switch that can be used to manipulate light with light, an important ingredient for efficient future quantum computers.

    Wait a minute. Transparent iron? Quantum computers?

    This look alike a good place for this…

    The method these scientists used is known as electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). The effect of EIT is well known from laser physics. With intense laser light of a certain wavelength it is possible to make a non-transparent material transparent for light of another wavelength. This team managed to prove for the first time that this transparency effect also exists for X-ray light, when the X-rays are directed towards atomic nuclei of the Mössbauer isotope iron-57 (which makes up 2% of naturally occurring iron). Quite remarkably, only very low light intensities are needed to observe this effect, in contrast to standard EIT experiments.

    This experiment definitely means considerable technical progress for quantum computing: apart from the basic possibility to make materials transparent with light, the intensity of light is decisive for a future technical realization as well. Every additional quantum of light produces additional waste heat; this would be reduced by the use of the presently discovered effect.

    The experiments of the DESY scientists also showed another parallel to the EIT effect: the light trapped in the optical cavity only travels with the speed of a few metres per second – normally it is nearly 300 000 kilometers per second. With further experiments, the scientists will clarify how slow the light really becomes under these circumstances, and whether it is possible to use this effect scientifically. A possible application and at the same time an important building block on the way to light-quantum computers is, for example, the storage of information with extremely slow or even stopped light pulses.

    Trippy.