Quantum

There's a key aspect of quantum computing you may not have thought about before. Called 'quantum non-​demolition measurements', they refer to observing certain quantum states without destroying them in the process.  If we want to put together a functioning quantum computer, not having it break down every second while calculations are made would obviously be helpful. Now, scientists have described a new technique for recording quantum non-demolition measurements that shows a lot of promise.In this case, the research…

“Levy flights” describe statistical properties of elementary quantum magnets as well as of bees foraging for food. Credit: Christoph Hohmann (MCQST Cluster)Quantum simulator provides insights into the dynamics of complex quantum systems.At first glance, a system consisting of 51 ions may appear to be easily manageable. But even if these charged atoms are only switched back and forth between two states, the result is more than two quadrillion (1015) different orderings which the system can take on.The behavior of such a…

Optical microscope image of the acoustic resonator viewed from above (two larger disks, the inner of which is the piezoelectric transducer) and of the antenna connected to the superconducting qubit (white structure). Credit: Adapted from von Lüpke et al. Nat. Phys. DOI: 10.1038/s41567-022-01591-2 (2022)New experimental work establishes how quantum properties of mechanical quantum systems can be measured without destroying the quantum state.Systems in which mechanical motion is controlled at the level of individual quanta…

Sony has announced its new lineup of Bravia XR TVs at CES 2022. The new range includes Sony's first quantum dot OLED TV (QD-OLED), apart from several new Mini LED TVs added to its lineup. The new range of Bravia TVs uses Sony's new Cognitive Processor XR, which the company claims deliver better contrast and vivid colours. Sony's new XR Backlight Master Drive algorithm on the other hand has been tuned to deliver better control in the Mini LED models to deliver better contrast and deeper blacks. Pricing details for Sony's…

Every time you take a step, space itself glows with a soft warmth.Called the Fulling–Davies–Unruh effect (or sometimes just Unruh effect if you're pushed for time), this eerie glow of radiation emerging from the vacuum is akin to the mysterious Hawking radiation that's thought to surround black holes.  Only in this case, it's the product of acceleration rather than gravity.Can't feel it? There's a good reason for that. You'd need to move at an impossible speed to sense even the weakest of Unruh rays.For now, the effect…

IBM announced a revision of its (originally) 2020 quantum computing roadmap, bringing about a renewed focus in quantum computing scaling by doubling down on modularity and quantum-capable networking. In a day and age where delays are the norm, IBM's re-commitment to its quantum computing efforts instills confidence in the company's choice of framework, qubits, and software development, and it lead to the so-called quantum advantage sooner than expected.IBM's original roadmap hoped to achieve 1 million plus qubits from…

IBM said it is planning to launch a quantum computer with a 4,000 qubit processor by 2025 and put quantum computing to practical use. The company shared its roadmap to build a modular architecture that will enable quantum computers to have more qubits. In addition to increasing the number of qubits, the company is also working on building software to “distribute workloads across quantum and classical resources."  Qubit or quantum bit is the basic unit of quantum information. Higher…

An illustration of the qubit platform made of a single electron on solid neon. Researchers froze neon gas into a solid at very low temperatures, sprayed electrons from a light bulb onto the solid, and trapped a single electron there to create a qubit. Credit: Courtesy of Dafei Jin/Argonne National LaboratoryThe digital device you are using to view this article is no doubt using the bit, which can either be 0 or 1, as its basic unit of information. However, scientists around the world are racing to develop a new kind of…

It has been more than four years since IBM announced their first quantum computer using 50 qubits or quantum bits. Yet, we haven't come closer to getting a quantum computer that can be practically used. In fact, the quantum computers that we have are not suitable for large-scale usage and cannot match up to the tasks that other forms of technology can achieve effortlessly. Scientists believe that the fault lies in the building block of these quantum computers. Hence, they are working to make the ideal building blocks to…

We already have quantum computers of a sort, but at the moment they're not practical or reliable or large-scale enough to fully realize the massive potential of the technology.  To get closer to that end goal, scientists are working towards what they say could be the ideal building block for a quantum computer.These building blocks are called qubits. Unlike classical computer bits, which store either 1 or 0 at any one time, these qubits can exist in a simultaneous 0 and 1 state, much like the famous Schrödinger thought…