Future 'quantum computers' will offer increased efficiency... and risksMarch 06, 2008UCF Professor makes unique discovery, may revolutionize encryption technology An unusual observation in a University of Central Florida physics lab may lead to a new generation of "Quantum Computers" that will render today's computer and credit card encryption technology obsolete. The observations are documented this week in the online version of Nature Physics under Advance Online Publication (http://www.nature.com/nphys/index.html ). The title of UCF Professor Enrique del Barco's paper is "Quantum Interference of Tunnel Trajectories between States of Different Spin Length in a Dimeric Molecular Nanogmagnet."
Consumers, credit card companies and high-tech firms rely on cryptography to protect the transmission of sensitive information. The basis for current encryption systems is that computers would need thousands of years to factor a large number, making it very difficult to do. However, if del Barco's observation can be fully understood and applied, scientists may have the basis to create quantum computers -- which could easily break the most complicated encryption in a matter of hours. Del Barco said the observation may foster the understanding of quantum tunneling of nanoscale magnetic systems, which could revolutionize the way we understand computation. "This is very exciting," del Barco said. "When we first observed it, we looked at each other and said, 'That can't be right.' We did it again and again and we achieved the same result every time." According to quantum mechanics, small magnetic objects called nanomagnets can exist in two distinct states (i.e. north pole up and north pole down). They can switch their state through a phenomenon called quantum tunneling. When the nanomagnet switches its poles, the abrupt change in its magnetization can be observed with low-temperature magnetometry techniques used in del Barco's lab. The switch is called quantum tunneling because it looks like a funnel cloud tunneling from one pole to another. Del Barco published paper shows that two almost independent halves of a new magnetic molecule can tunnel, or switch poles, at once under certain conditions. In the process, they appear to cancel out quantum tunneling. "It's similar to what can be observed when two rays of light run into interference," del Barco said. "Once they run into the interference you can expect darkness." Controlling quantum tunneling shifts could help create the quantum logic gates necessary to create quantum computers. It is believed that among the different existing proposals to obtain a practical quantum computer, the spin (magnetic moment) of solid-state devices is the most promising one. "And this is the case of our molecular magnets," del Barco said. "Of course, this is far from real life yet, but is an important step in the way. We still must do more research and a lot of people are already trying to figure this out, including us. It's absolutely invigorating." Co-authors of the paper are Christopher Ramsey from UCF, Stephen Hill from the University of Florida and Sonali J. Shah, Christopher C. Beedle and David N. Hendrickson from the University of California at La Jolla. Del Barco, who is a native of Spain, began teaching at UCF in 2005. He got a Ph. d degree from the University of Barcelona before moving onto New York University where he worked with Andrew Kent, a well-known quantum physicist. It was the warm weather and the dynamic of UCF that drew him and his family to UCF. Aside from teaching physics and working on research, Del Barco is a published writer. He penned a science fiction novel that has been published in Spain by Editorial Equipo-Sirius. He collaborates with scientists from around the world including researchers in Spain, Hong Kong and across the United States. University of Central Florida | |||||||||||||||||||||
|
Related Quantum Computer Current Events and Quantum Computer News Articles Fast quantum computer building block created The fastest quantum computer bit that exploits the main advantage of the qubit over the conventional bit has been demonstrated by researchers at University of Michigan, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory and the University of California at San Diego. New JILA technique reveals hidden properties of ultracold atomic gases Physicists at JILA, a joint institute of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado at Boulder, have demonstrated a powerful new technique that reveals hidden properties of ultracold atomic gases. UCSB researchers make milestone discovery in quantum mechanics Researchers at UC Santa Barbara have recently reached what they are calling a milestone in experimental quantum mechanics. The fight for the best quantum bit (qubit) Our results give us, for the first time, the possibility to understand the interaction between just two electrons placed next to each other in a carbon nanotube. UBC physicists develop 'impossible' technique to study and develop superconductors A team of University of British Columbia researchers has developed a technique that controls the number of electrons on the surface of high-temperature superconductors, a procedure considered impossible for the past two decades. Weizmann Institute Scientists Find New 'Quasiparticles' Weizmann Institute physicists have demonstrated, for the first time, the existence of 'quasiparticles' with one quarter the charge of an electron. This finding could be a first step toward creating exotic types of quantum computers that might be powerful, yet highly stable. McCormick Researchers Take Step Toward Creating Quantum Computers For now, full-fledged quantum computers are the stuff of science fiction - in last summer's blockbuster movie Transformers, the bad guys use quantum computing to break into the U.S. Army's secure files in just 10 seconds flat. Silicon chips for optical quantum technologies A team of physicists and engineers has demonstrated exquisite control of single particles of light - photons - on a silicon chip to make a major advance towards the long sought after goal of a super-powerful quantum computer. The future of computing -- carbon nanotubes and superconductors to replace the silicon chip The future of computing is under the spotlight at the Institute of Physics' Condensed Matter and Materials Physics conference at the Royal Holloway College of the University of London on 26-28 March. Physicists team up to learn how quantum mechanical states break down Researchers at the US Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory, the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Microsoft Station Q have made significant advancements in understanding a fundamental problem of quantum mechanics -- one that is blocking efforts to develop practical quantum computers with processing speeds far superior to conventional computers. Their respective theoretical and experimental studies investigate how microscopic objects lose their quantum-mechanical properties through interactions with the environment. More Quantum Computer Current Events and Quantum Computer News Articles |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||