Quantum computer slips onto chips

Quantum computer slips onto chips

news.bbc.co.uk

Researchers have devised a penny-sized silicon chip that uses photons to run Shor's algorithm - a well-known quantum approach - to solve a maths problem.

The algorithm computes the two numbers that multiply together to form a given figure, and has until now required laboratory-sized optical computers.

This kind of factoring is the basis for a wide variety of encryption schemes.

news.bbc.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)



[edit on 4-9-2009 by Ibex08]

Well im sure this is a big step forward, but im sure there is stilla lot of work before it can do any of the complex things computers do now.

This though makes me excited the thought of how fast that would work!

[edit on 4-9-2009 by Ibex08]

Can you please explain the implications of this feat?
Perhaps in terms of comparing and contrasting it to the atypical chipset I use in, for instance, the netbook I am typing on now.
Thanks.

well, if the jump is made then im sure that most encrytption out at the moment would have to be changed or improved as a quantum computer would most likley be able to crack it with ease.

But the jump from a classic pc we use now to a quantum computer would be around maybe 10-15x better, now try and think how fast that would be

Makes me happy just thinking about it

Oh yer that sounds tasty!

Let's see if I can get this right.

Binary code. In current computer language, there is a base. On and off. Everything done by a computer, every calculation, every representation is a combination or sequence of zero and 1. On and off. Every calculation is a derivative of ones and zeros.

A quantum computer comes from the idea of a quark. The signal-state that can be represented is either 1, 0, (and here's the kicker) BOTH. It can have a value of one AND zero at the same time. Confusing, I know, but in quantum mechanics, the idea of a quark is old hat.

What this would represent is almost too big to explain.

In the computer world, things usually go in doubles. from 4bits, to 8bits, to 16bits, to 32, 64, 128, etc... An example would be the Nintendo game systems. I'm not sure which is which, but the N64 was a product of that system. RAM and Video goes the same route. Almost anything digital will participate in teh doubles rule. BUT, there are a few exceptions.

With this quantum computer, the numbers wouldn't double. They would increase exponentially. It's the difference between 2d and 3d. A whole new dimension. Instead of going from 8 to 16 bits, it would have jumped straight from 8 to 64 bits.

Let's put it into perspective. You start with an 8 megabyte stick of RAM for your computer. Then next logical upgrade for quarks would be 64 megs. Here's where it gets fun... it jumps from 64 megs... to 4 gigs. then 4 to 16. In regards to system speeds, we would jump from 2.6gigahertz to 6.76. Think of the YEARS we had between a 2.6 Athlon to what we have today. The next stage after that would be around 40 gigahertz.

This would affect ANYTHING digital. Phones, communication, computer processing, data storage, broadband, wifi. With teh same rate of advancement, we'd be able to have hollographic displays run from a thumbnail-sized computer that could perform every function available in a modern office building. In a matter of two or three years.

See you explain it better than me! lol thanks for that and i think just dribbled on my keyboard

Quantum..............

To turn the inside out..........

roll with it.

So basically you're saying that investing in that top of the line PC I want is a bad idea? Saves me some money I suppose...maybe I'll buy a better telescope instead...


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

Not at all. Right now there are so many bugs to work out of the system that it may be years before the first wide-spread release of the quantum computer. Unfortunately, right now the quantum chip isn't stable enough to use on a very large scale and not comparable to the stability of what we're using. Once the bugs are out, expect it to replace binary systems.

On a side note, there's a single thing that is stopping us from creating Artificial Intelligence. The quantum chip might eliminate this. A binary computer can only carry out the functions it was programmed to do. What prevents a computer, no matter how advanced, from becoming self-aware or capable of independent action is the simplest thing we take for granted.

Random.

You read it right. Despite our natural programming, humans can defy logic, reason, stimulus. We do this because we have the ability to randomly decide. There are those that argue that every human behavior is predictable. I think they're wrong. Random is what sets natural intelligence apart from artificial. A computer is not capable of producing anything random. It's all in the code.

But with this quantum state, it might be possible for the random element to be introduced. If that were the case, an actual intelligence might be created. A complicated thing that would become self-aware, even if subject to the limitations of it's programming.

Food for thought.

Another interesting sidenote is some believe quantum computers point to parallel universes.

This would mean the computation is occuring in our universe on a classical computer and the computation is occuring in parallel universes on a quantum computer.

A quantum computer will essentially do more calculations simultaneously than there are particles in the universe. The computation will be taking place in a parallel universe.

We are in some interesting times. Things like quantum computers or nanotechnology will be huge paradigm shifts as they become more advanced.

Imagine having a quantum computer laptop that's more powerful than a supercomputer.

How much would it take for me to make one for myself...or maybe 3?

but seriously...

SLI enabled!? Haha


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

SLI would be a non-issue at that point. Currently, we're using layers of technology. It's the same principal from when the 8086's came out, of which all PC's today are descendants. We've developed the ability to create much smaller circuits, transistors, wiring and so on... this at a microscopic level. At one MILLIONTH of a meter, a micron is what we're currently taking CPU hardware measurements with. Thing's are that small. Many people didn't beleive we'd be able to go below .5m but with teh advent of newer light technologies, we were able to and plan on going further. But in the end, it's still billions of billions of 8086 technologies piled together in a linear fashion. All 2d. The advent of a workable quark system would allow for it all to be set up in 3d. Instead of a layer, you would have a cube, all of the units interacting with one another. The third position of the quark would be the third dimension. One unit could signify the binary signals of zero and one while the third unit would expand the concepts of computing to another level. SLI wouldn't have to exist because every single representation would be linked to all the others. Basically speaking, all data circuits contained in the unit would all be connected. Scalable Link Interfaces wouldn't be necessary, because everything would be inherently linked.

Reading through the post I think I mighta got too far into things. Do some research. The idea behind this tech is pretty old. For a long time no one beleived the quark existed. Now there's a chip of quarks.

But not all is lost when it comes to our current technology. We won't be reinventing the wheel, so to speak. With our building tech, light manipulation and magnification techs, we'd probably regress about two years adn build on our technology at THAT time to mass produce the quantum processors. Providing developers had enough initiative to go that far. It was only a matter of time before our current tech was out of date. It will soon be obsolete.

reply to post by Arrowmancer


wow your really into this aint ya, im enjoying reading throuhg your posts though, good work explaining it to us.

But now you wonder if quantum computers is a good step forward considering that it could cause AI and we all know what 'could' happen with AI, not saying it will be there is a small chance it would?

So arrow? how many years from now do you think it will be before we see any publicly made quantum computers?

Not really sure on that one. I haven't followed the Research and Development in the last year or so. I think it was about six years ago when the quark theory was really making a move. I certainly wouldn't have expected anyone to have developed a chip by now. I followed it pretty close, reading through anything I could find on it before I realized the complications involved in creating such a thing. I've been pretty heavy into quantum mechanics since I was 15... now I'm 30. My first computer was a 486DX2-66 with a 2meg hard drive. When I first learned of the quark theory, that was the first thing I equated it to since the idea had been developed in direct relationship with open/closed circuits. Now, fifteen years later, we have super fast linear chips, optical devices that can read thousands of bits of data in a scrap of a second... My thought was always: what will be next?

I'm guessing that the first publicly commercial release of the quark chips would be along the lines of video games. It's the one industry (beyond military) that could provide enough revenue to fully fund R&D into advancements in teh technology. Given the possible power of quantum chips (as they are called in the article), the only realm they would ever get pushed to their full potential would be either in gaming or in virtual applications.

Once nVidia, ATI, or even Intel, AMD, or KG get into the fray, don't expect it to be long.... perhaps two years after they start showing interest in the technology before the first piece of hardware hits the shelf. Once that happens, hang it up... technological advancements in every area will skyrocket.

As for the AI... the whole idea of the random comes from the nueral pathways of the brain. It's possible to get a misfire in the brain that will cause an abnormal reaction. It's also possible to come to a conclusion of complete logic and sanity... and ignore it. Because all of our brain functions are interlinked. In a binary system, that's not possible the data run parallel, but never interact. Introducing a third level of computation would allow all data to interact which will allow a system to come to a logical conclusion other than the obvious. It is HERE that we might develop AI. The idea of self-awareness in a computer is beyond comprehension. But almost all technology that we've developed has been in observance of organic principal and law. Our primary drive is based on propogation of the species... the creation of life. Is it so surprising that we'd desire to create it artificially?

thanks for all of that arrow, really informative, i could learn the theory just by reading your posts lol.

As for quantum in gaming, then wow maybe crysis will run on ultra then lol.
Its just a waiting game i suppose, defo gonna keep an eye on the gaming industry see when they start to gain intrest.

Will college students majoring in comp sci right now be thrown out into the street once the quantum computer hits the market since everything they learned in school will be obsolete?

:O deary me i didnt think of that, that could be a possibility cause it would techinically run differently to what we know :S i guess we would just be taught the new ways.

First, love the signature.

reply to post by Arrowmancer

The advent of a workable quark system would allow for it all to be set up in 3d. Instead of a layer, you would have a cube, all of the units interacting with one another. The third position of the quark would be the third dimension.

Thanks for your posts So its a quark, Ive never researched much up on Q. computers, but that paragraph made it all go "ding"