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Quantum Computer Demoed, Plays Sudoku

Posted by kdawson on from the more-qubits dept.

prostoalex writes "Canadian company D-Wave Systems is getting some technology press buzz after successfully demonstrating their quantum computer (discussed here earlier) that the company plans to rent out. Scientific American has a more technical description of how the quantum computer works, as well as possible areas of application: 'The quantum computer was given three problems to solve: searching for molecular structures that match a target molecule, creating a complicated seating plan, and filling in Sudoku puzzles.' Another attendee provides some videos from the demo." Anyone want to guess how long before "qubit" gets compressed to "quit" (as "bigit" became "bit" in the last century)?

8 of 309 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Curious by paeanblack · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm actually curious - for how long do the 16 qubits stay coherent? You can only do quantum computations while the qubits remain coherent. Furthermore, IIRC coherence times where (at best) in the range of a few microseconds.

    That's why quantum computers will be so fast. If not, they will constantly forget... Damn. Where was I going with this?

  2. This isn't fair! by neo · · Score: 5, Funny

    I want to solve sudoku. Now some computer can do it so fast that it's finished before they even start? What good is that? Sudoku is supposed to be about wasting time, not reversing it.

  3. Re:obligatory by j00r0m4nc3r · · Score: 5, Funny

    But... does it run Linux?

    It runs all possible operating systems at once, but once you type a command in the probability wave collapses and you're stuck using AmigaDOS.

  4. Here me son of man! by GodInHell · · Score: 5, Funny

    I come to warn you that there shall be a great outage.. go forth and build an array to save my creations. Make it 100 qubits long, 30 qubits wide, and 10 qubits deep. Into this hash all data in /usr/god/dataM/ .. and /usr/god/dataF/

    Do this, and you shall survive the outage I shall send.

    :D I can't resist a bad pun.

    -GiH

  5. A bold leap forward in computing by Rob+T+Firefly · · Score: 5, Funny

    Immediately after booting, the Quantum Computer disappeared in a flash of light and noise. It resurfaced in 1985, where it briefly took over a Commodore 64 and corrected some mistakes it made the first time around, before moving onto a UNIVAC in 1955...

    --
    Slashdot Burying Stories About Slashdot Media Owned
  6. Re:My suggestion for new tasks by Farmer+Tim · · Score: 5, Funny

    You don't want quantum computers anywhere near the Slashdot front page: it'll only lead to more accusations of spin.

    --
    Blank until /. makes another boneheaded UI decision.
  7. Re:obligatory by GodInHell · · Score: 5, Funny


    Dev: Ah.. finally got it up and..
    Linux: CRASH AND NOISE AND HORROR AND SCROLL SCREEN KERNEL DUMP!!
    Dev: .. stupid drivers.. grr..

    ||time passes||

    Dev: okay, this time.. it stays up..
    Linux: ...loading.. CRASH!! OH GOD MY SPLEEN! NOT MY HARD DRIVE!! OWWW!

    ||Five iterations later||

    Dev: Finally... now.. WORK!!
    Linux: ...loading.. Hello Dave, can I help you?
    Dev: Yes! Finally!! Tell me, what is the meaning of life, the universe, and everything!?
    Linux: Oh that's simple.. spending time with your wife and kids.
    Dev: What.. oh.. God.. NO!!!

    I like linux.. and I like jokes at linux.. go figure.

    -GiH

  8. Re:Traveling Salesman by nasch · · Score: 5, Funny

    So, Mr. Smarty Pants, if your Sudoku solver is good enough to solve any grid in polynomial time, please show the rest of us, as you've just cracked every encryption scheme invented to date.
    As the CS gangsta rapper MC++ put it, "if we could factor large composites in poly time, we'd have enough money to not have to rhyme."