Category: Quantum Mechanics
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Quantum computers: Meet my new computer. Different than the old computer…
In theory, quantum computers can do anything that a classical computer can. In practice, however, the quantumness in a quantum computer makes it nearly impossible to efficiently run some of the most important classical algorithms. The traditional grade-school method for multiplication requires n^2 steps, where n is the number of digits of the numbers you’re multiplying. For…
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Going back in time… With no change…
We cannot reverse the arrow of time any more than we can erase all our wrinkles or restore a shattered teacup to its original form. Or can we? An international team of scientists led by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory managed to return a computer briefly to the past. To achieve…
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Life. Existence. Quantum mechanics.
We're a little closer to explaining life with quantum mechanics thanks to research carried out with an IBM supercomputer. Encoding behaviours related to self-replication, mutation, interaction between individuals, and (inevitably) death, a quantum algorithm has been used to show that quantum computers can indeed mimic some of the patterns of biology in the real world.…
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Demons. Computers. A world of chaos. Death by order.
Physicists have employed a version of Maxwell's demon to reduce entropy in a three-dimensional lattice of super-cooled, laser-trapped atoms - a process that could help speed progress toward creating quantum computers. (1) A cosmos full of chaos. We struggle into increasing order in the universe. At the end we will succeed. And the cosmos will…
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Quantum memories…
Quantum cryptography today uses optical fiber over several hundred kilometers and is marked by its high degree of security: it is impossible to copy or intercept information without making it disappear. However, the fact that it is impossible to copy the signal also prevents scientists from amplifying it to diffuse it over long distances, as…
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