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On Diamond-Based Quantum Computing
Roland Piquepaille writes "Quantum computing is usually associated with extremely low temperatures. Physicists at Harvard University have shown that diamonds can be used to create stable quantum computing building blocks at room temperature. A nitrogen vacancy in diamond could lead to quantum registers able to store or retrieve data. '"The problem is, what makes single nuclear spin so stable - its weak interaction with its surroundings - also prevents us from directly manipulating it," Lukin says. "How do you control something that can't interact with anything?" You do it gingerly and indirectly, the Harvard physicists report in Science. They found that nuclear spins associated with single atoms of carbon-13 - which make up some 1.1 percent of natural diamond - can be manipulated via a nearby single electron whose own spin can be controlled with optical and microwave radiation.'"
Is just how much diamond it takes to achieve this. Are they working with microparticles of diamond shavings, or with larger pieces. If they are using some kind of diamond dust, how do you arrange this to get any kind of usable array for storage?
that quantum computer hardware has been making strides recently, I have to think:
Are we going to be thwarted by the difficult of developing software for quantum computers?
I'm no expert on quantum computing, but I can imagine there's a huge amount to think about when programming even trivial applications for it - not so long ago we had an article on parallel programming being too hard - this is just with normal computers where everything is clearly defined in ones and zeroes. I certainly can't imagine dealing with qubits to be any simpler... after all, if quantum computing relies on simultaneity, isn't this a vast extension of the parallel programming problem?
"A deadlock has been reached. One task must die. We must now choose between murder and suicide."
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This story is a classic example of selling your research by pretending it may have a practical application. Do something with a quantum system, and sell it by saying it has a potential quantum computing application. Do something on a nanoscopic scale, and call it nanotechnology. Do something with a semiconductor, and say it is for future chips.
What these researchers have done is pretty standard fare: the nitrogen vacancy defect in diamond is photo-active center that can and has been studied extensively by optical excitation. The unpaired electron spins of these centres can be manipulated via microwaves. With a low concentration and tight focus, you can study individual centers. Some of these will have and adjacent carbon-13 instead of the more abundant carbon-12 neighbor. Its magnetic moment can be observed through its interaction with the electron spin. Cute, but nothing what so fucking ever to do with any kind of practical application.
Science has become colonized by hypesters, marketeers, and slick talking band wagon jumpers. All in pursuit of that next bit of funding and fame.