Scientists make quantum leap in developing faster computers
March 19, 2009(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have created a molecular device which could act as a building block for future generations of superfast computers.
The researchers have created components that could one day be used to develop quantum computers - devices based on molecular scale technology instead of silicon chips and which would be much faster than conventional computers.
The study, by scientists at the Universities of Manchester and Edinburgh and published in the journal Nature, was funded by the European Commission.
Scientists have achieved the breakthrough by combining tiny magnets with molecular machines that can shuttle between two locations without the use of external force. These manoeuvrable magnets could one day be used as the basic component in quantum computers.
Conventional computers work by storing information in the form of bits, which can represent information in binary code - either as zero or one.
Quantum computers will use quantum binary digits, or qubits, which are far more sophisticated - they are capable of representing not only zero and one, but a range of values simultaneously. Their complexity will enable quantum computers to perform intricate calculations much more quickly than conventional computers.
Professor David Leigh, of the University of Edinburgh's School of Chemistry, said: "This development brings super-fast, non-silicon based computing a step closer.
"The magnetic molecules involved have potential to be used as qubits, and combining them with molecular machines enables them to move, which could be useful for building quantum computers. The major challenges we face now are to bring many of these qubits together to build a device that could perform calculations, and to discover how to communicate between them."
Professor Richard Winpenny, of the University of Manchester's School of Chemistry, said: "To perform computation we have to have states where the qubits speak to each other and others where they don't - rather like having light switches on and off.
"Here we have shown we can bring the qubits together, control how far apart they are, and potentially switch the device between two or more states. The remaining challenge is to learn how to do the switching, and that's what we're trying to do now."
Provided by University of Manchester
-
2 qubits in action, new step towards the quantum computer
Jun 14, 2007 |
not rated yet |
0
-
A Quantum CPU: the Pentium Q?
May 23, 2006 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Quantum computers could excel in modeling chemical reactions
Nov 20, 2008 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Quantum breakup is no heartbreaker
Feb 14, 2006 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Physicists perform the first ever quantum calculation
Dec 11, 2007 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Engineers build first sub-10-nm carbon nanotube transistor
Feb 01, 2012 |
4.9 / 5 (31) |
30
-
Something old, something new: Evolution and the structural divergence of duplicate genes
Jan 31, 2012 |
4.6 / 5 (7) |
1
-
The hidden nanoworld of ice crystals: Revealing the dynamic behavior of quasi-liquid layers
Jan 30, 2012 |
5 / 5 (3) |
1
-
Stock market network reveals investor clustering
Jan 27, 2012 |
3.9 / 5 (23) |
8
-
Of microchemistry and molecules: Electronic microfluidic device synthesizes biocompatible probes
Jan 26, 2012 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
-
a steel rod and an iron rod is placed inside an ac current soleoid
1 hour ago
-
Nature of principal strains
1 hour ago
-
Magnet in a AC current solenoid
2 hours ago
-
Maxwell's equations outside electrodynamics?
4 hours ago
-
Force and Surface Charge on Sphere
9 hours ago
-
Trajectory Path from 2 Distance Sensors
10 hours ago
- More from Physics Forums - Classical Physics
More news stories
Putting the squeeze on planets outside our solar system
(PhysOrg.com) -- Using high-powered lasers, scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and collaborators discovered that molten magnesium silicate undergoes a phase change in the liquid state, abruptly ...
11 hours ago |
4.3 / 5 (7) |
0
|
Hovering not hard if you're top-heavy, researchers find
Top-heavy structures are more likely to maintain their balance while hovering in the air than are those that bear a lower center of gravity, researchers at New York University's Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences ...
12 hours ago |
5 / 5 (1) |
1
|
SLAC, Stanford team focuses on high-energy electrons to treat cancer
Accelerator physicists at SLAC and cancer specialists from Stanford are working on a new technology that could dramatically reduce the time needed for cancer radiation treatments. The team ran an initial experiment ...
15 hours ago |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
Measurements from high-energy collisions lead to better understanding of why meson particles disappear
For several years, physicists at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), USA, have studied an unusual state of matter called the quarkgluon plasma, which they ...
16 hours ago |
4.5 / 5 (4) |
0
Explained: Sigma
It's a question that arises with virtually every major new finding in science or medicine: What makes a result reliable enough to be taken seriously? The answer has to do with statistical significance -- but ...
Feb 09, 2012 |
5 / 5 (16) |
53
Anonymous knocks CIA website offline (Update)
The website of the Central Intelligence Agency was inaccessible on Friday after the hacker group Anonymous claimed to have knocked it offline.
Google users warned of threat to smartphone wallets
Users of Google smartphone wallets were being warned on Friday that there is a way to crack pass codes intended to thwart thieves from going on illicit shopping sprees.
New error-correcting codes guarantee the fastest possible rate of data transmission
Error-correcting codes are one of the triumphs of the digital age. Theyre a way of encoding information so that it can be transmitted across a communication channel such as an optical fiber o ...
Humans may have helped the decline of African rainforests 3000 years ago
(PhysOrg.com) -- Large areas of rainforests in Central Africa mysteriously disappeared over three thousand years ago, to be replaced by savannas. The prevailing theory has been that the cause was a change ...
New power source discovered
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and RMIT University have made a breakthrough in energy storage and power generation.
The power of estrogen -- male snakes attract other males
A new study has shown that boosting the estrogen levels of male garter snakes causes them to secrete the same pheromones that females use to attract suitors, and turned the males into just about the sexiest ...
Mar 20, 2009
Rank: 5 / 5 (1)