Creating quantum creatures in the lab

Viruses may soon be recruited by chip makers in the quest to take computer chips down to the nanometre scale and harness novel quantum effects. And superpositioning of a virus is yet another milestone to create quantum computers
This experiment will be hard and the scientists are hoping to perform the Schrodinger's cat experiment for real. The work will experimentally address fundamental questions, such as the role of life in quantum mechanics, and differences between 'many-world' and 'Copenhagen' interpretations If there is quantum consciousness in us then this experiment may also address it.

Quantum weirdness could soon invade the living world, if a scheme to give a flu virus a strange double life comes off. The method might work on more complex life forms too. In quantum theory, a single object can be doing two different things at once. This is called "superposition". It might be possible with a small life form, according to Oriol Romero-Isart of the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics in Garching, Germany, and his colleagues. They chose the flu virus because it can survive in a vacuum – solving the problem of pesky air molecules.

Their scheme would use two laser beams, whose light exerts a gentle force on matter. Where the two beams cross they form an "optical cavity" holding the virus in place.

By adjusting the frequency of the beams, the laser photons can be made to absorb the vibration energy of the trapped virus until it is slowed to its lowest possible energy state. In this "ground state" the virus is ready to go into a superposition.

Source: www.newscientist.com...



[edit on 15-9-2009 by sunny_2008ny]

A very interesting article, from my favorite magazine.

Hopefully we will have some results soon!

Creating quantum creatures

Say that real fast, three times in a row.