Qubits Stored at Room Temp For Two Seconds

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Qubits Stored at Room Temp For Two Seconds

Posted by Unknown on Wednesday July 4, 2012 @03:44AM from the get-em-while-they're-warm dept.

nmpost writes with news of another step toward practical quantum computers. From the article: "Scientists have successfully overcome one of the obstacles in quantum computation by storing data on quantum bits (qubits) for about two seconds at room temperature. Many of the current systems utilize extremely complex and costly equipments to trap an individual electron or atom in a vacuum at absolute zero temperature. However, a team of researchers from Harvard University have solved the problem of working at normal temperature by using diamonds, which are atomically pure materials on Earth."

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Re:So say we all by zrbyte · 2012-07-04 03:51 · Score: 2, Funny

First fail, to be more exact.
Absolute zero by Anonymous Coward · 2012-07-04 03:58 · Score: 5, Insightful

Many of the current systems utilize extremely complex and costly equipments to trap an individual electron or atom in a vacuum at absolute zero temperature

No they don't. Really. They don't. Trust me on this.
1. Re:Absolute zero by HarrySquatter · 2012-07-04 04:01 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  That's because "Technorati" horribly mangled what the original Harvard Gazette article said which was:
  
  Most current systems, by comparison, rely on complex and expensive equipment designed to trap a single atom or electron in a vacuum and then cool the entire system to close to absolute zero.
2. Re:Absolute zero by Anonymous Coward · 2012-07-04 05:55 · Score: 1
  
  Then he's a hell of a lot stupider than his namesake.
3. Re:Absolute zero by ThreeKelvin · 2012-07-04 06:03 · Score: 1
  
  Indeed I would.
4. Re:Absolute zero by __aaltlg1547 · 2012-07-04 06:33 · Score: 2
  
  That's because "Technorati" horribly mangled what the original Harvard Gazette article said which was:
  
  Most current systems, by comparison, rely on complex and expensive equipment designed to trap a single atom or electron in a vacuum and then cool the entire system to close to absolute zero.
  "Atomically pure" diamonds are of course, cheap and more readily available than synthetically grown silicon...
5. Re:Absolute zero by maxwell+demon · 2012-07-04 07:47 · Score: 1
  
  I'm sure you can use industrial diamonds for this.
  
  --
  The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
6. Re:Absolute zero by Gr8Apes · 2012-07-04 08:56 · Score: 1
  
  Or artificial diamonds, but they're still more expensive than real diamonds, last I heard, but I don't know how much of that is due to PR by the diamond industry.
  
  --
  The cesspool just got a check and balance.
7. Re:Absolute zero by tehcyder · 2012-07-05 02:33 · Score: 2
  
  All the Mach5 razors are coated in a thin layer of diamond.
  As it's over a base layer of unobtanium, that might explain why replacement blades are so fucking expensive.
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
Re:Breakfast Qubits Cereal by JustOK · 2012-07-04 03:59 · Score: 1

Thought they were those annoying pop-up ads some people see

--
rewriting history since 2109
Obligatory Bill Cosby by Palmateer · 2012-07-04 03:59 · Score: 2

What's a cubit?
1. Re:Obligatory Bill Cosby by GameboyRMH · 2012-07-04 06:40 · Score: 1
  
  The length of an ancient Egyptian man's forearm.
  
  --
  "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
atomically pure materials on Earth. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-07-04 04:00 · Score: 1

as opposed to neptune where they're considered quite slutty?
'Atomically pure material' by avandesande · 2012-07-04 04:00 · Score: 1

Who gives a shit? There are lots of atomically pure materials.

--
love is just extroverted narcissism
1. Re:'Atomically pure material' by HarrySquatter · 2012-07-04 04:04 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Whoever wrote the Technorati article that the submitter quoted (most likely the same person) seems to be unable to form basic English sentences. The original article just states:
  
  A group of Harvard scientists, led by Professor of Physics Mikhail Lukin and including graduate students Georg Kucsko and Peter Maurer and postdoctoral researcher Christian Latta, say they’ve cracked the problem, and they did it by turning to one of the purest materials on Earth: diamonds.
  Apparently the person writing the Technorati article was trying to insert words in to make himself sound smarter and failing at it.
2. Re:'Atomically pure material' by avandesande · 2012-07-04 04:11 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Actually diamonds are probably one of the less pure materials, because there is no way to refine them like you can with elements that can be zone refined such as silicon. Buckyballs can be refined by fractional crystalization... etc etc.
  Impurities are locked into diamonds.
  
  --
  love is just extroverted narcissism
3. Re:'Atomically pure material' by DanZ23 · 2012-07-04 04:35 · Score: 2
  
  Lab made diamonds are pretty damn pure.
4. Re:'Atomically pure material' by avandesande · 2012-07-04 05:55 · Score: 1
  
  I believe you on that but you would be surprised at how many nines they get out of some important industrial materials.
  
  --
  love is just extroverted narcissism
5. Re:'Atomically pure material' by gregski · 2012-07-04 09:27 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  from the harvard gazette article:
  "In initial experiments, the team used diamonds that contained 99 percent carbon-12 atoms"
  "Working with researchers at Element Six, a British-based company that specializes in manufacturing artificial diamonds, they developed a new technique to create crystals that were even more pure: 99.99 percent carbon-12."
  
  --
  I have never let my schooling interfere with my education. - Mark Twain
6. Re:'Atomically pure material' by Neil+Boekend · 2012-07-05 01:45 · Score: 1
  
  Only 99.99% pure? If they think that's pure they should talk with the semicon guys. 99.999999% pure (before doping) is common in electronics.
  
  --
  Well, I might have a way, but it only works on a semi spherical planet in a vacuum.
That was quick... by nightfell · 2012-07-04 04:13 · Score: 4, Funny

Two seconds? Sheesh, I can usually at least make it home before my new computer is obsolete.
1. Re:That was quick... by Forty+Two+Tenfold · 2012-07-04 06:48 · Score: 1
  
  Two seconds? Sheesh, I can usually at least make it home before my new computer is obsolete.
  Really?
  
  --
  Upward mobility is a slippery slope - the higher you climb the more you show your ass.
Apologies... by Qubit · 2012-07-04 04:18 · Score: 2, Insightful

...I have ADD and can only retain information for... ..wait, what were we talking about? It's Independence Day today, right? Let's go set off some fireworks!

--

coding is life /* the rest is */
Diamonds on Earth? by skine · 2012-07-04 04:20 · Score: 1

I've heard of diamonds before, but I was never aware that they were found on Earth!
1. Re:Diamonds on Earth? by marcosdumay · 2012-07-04 06:06 · Score: 1
  
  Not just any random element. They'll turn into elements that are not atomic.
  
  --
  Rethinking email
Is that supposed to bring the costs down? by 2fuf · 2012-07-04 04:22 · Score: 1

Using diamonds instead of costly equipment?
1. Re:Is that supposed to bring the costs down? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-07-04 04:36 · Score: 1
  
  Using diamonds instead of costly equipment?
  Yeah a lot of people are ignorant about this and that suits the DeBeers family just fine.
  
  Diamond is not really so rare. It's just that the DeBeers family has a 80%+ monopoly on the world's diamond mines. They artificially restrict the supply to raise the costs and the perceived value. Of course the diamond cutters have a specialized skill and want their profits as well.
  
  They do sell diamonds that are not considered gem-quality at realistic prices though. They are sometimes called industrial diamonds. Diamond saw blades for certain masonry work and diamond knife sharpeners (mine cost me $10-15) are made of these and are inexpensive. That is probably what this team uses. I really doubt they are using cut gemstone diamonds for this.
2. Re:Is that supposed to bring the costs down? by HarrySquatter · 2012-07-04 06:20 · Score: 1
  
  They used lab manufactured diamonds as to control the purity.
3. Re:Is that supposed to bring the costs down? by __aaltlg1547 · 2012-07-04 06:37 · Score: 1
  
  I doubt gem quality natural diamonds are even close to the purity they require for this. Industrial diamonds even less so.
"costly equipments" by mister_playboy · 2012-07-04 04:22 · Score: 2

Must be costly indeed when using diamonds is the cheaper alternative. :)

--
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law ::: Love is the law, love under will
1. Re:"costly equipments" by OneAhead · 2012-07-04 04:48 · Score: 2
  
  From TFA:
  
  Using a pair of impurities in ultra-pure, laboratory-grown diamonds, the researchers were able to create quantum bits and store information in them for nearly two seconds (...)
  I doubt those are cheap. Especially compared to current silicon chips. Especially on a per-bit basis.
  
  Anyhow, this whole discussion is kinda moot. It's just a "proof of concept" - another small step forward on the long road towards practical quantum computers.
2. Re:"costly equipments" by Bill,+Shooter+of+Bul · 2012-07-04 05:31 · Score: 1
  
  To be fair, its the same mystical marketing that causes gold to have value, or any other precious gem or metal used in jewelry. Diamonds are some what unique in that their is one company that has cornered the world market.
  
  --
  Well.. maybe. Or Maybe not. But Definitely not sort of.
3. Re:"costly equipments" by rubycodez · 2012-07-04 05:37 · Score: 1
  
  do a little research, lab grown pure carbon diamonds approach the cost of a gemstone at sizes over half a carat, cheaper for a smaller one. but that means on the order of some few thousands of dollars, not whatever you are imagining.
4. Re:"costly equipments" by __aaltlg1547 · 2012-07-04 06:41 · Score: 1
  
  Gold has value because of its many industrial uses and for decoration. There are no artificial restrictions on supply. It's just not common and therefore expensive to mine. But investors using it as a hedge have driven up the price.
5. Re:"costly equipments" by drkim · 2012-07-04 08:27 · Score: 1
  
  Lab grown diamonds can be made at a price per carat about $5.
  Source:
  Wired article: "The New Diamond Age"
  http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.09/diamond_pr.html
6. Re:"costly equipments" by HarrySquatter · 2012-07-04 08:49 · Score: 1
  
  And all those same things can be said about diamonds except exchange "investors" with "DeBeers".
7. Re:"costly equipments" by OneAhead · 2012-07-04 10:58 · Score: 1
  
  do a little research? You mean, like reading TFA?
  
  Working with researchers at Element Six, a British-based company that specializes in manufacturing artificial diamonds, they developed a new technique to create crystals that were even more pure: 99.99 percent carbon-12. Researchers then bombard the crystal with nitrogen to create the NV center, which interacts with a nearby carbon-13 atom.
  These aren't your ordinary lab-grown diamonds. Natural carbon contains 1% carbon-13. As isotopes can't be separated by chemical methods, it takes a lot of effort/money to get that down to 0.01%. The physics of isotope separation is also the reason why Iran still doesn't have enough isotropically pure uranium to build 1 atom bomb, despite decades of effort and a nation-state budget. Granted, separating carbon isotopes is substantially easier than uranium isotopes, and much less carbon is needed to build a small diamond than uranium is needed to build an atom bomb, but I can assure you these isotopically-purified-then-bombarded-with-nitrogen diamonds are everything but cheap. And I'd be surprised if there would be a practical method to store nearly as many bits in them as in an over-the counter DDR3 chip.
8. Re:"costly equipments" by Bill,+Shooter+of+Bul · 2012-07-04 13:29 · Score: 1
  
  And that's exactly my point. People think that gold has some crazy inherent value that no other substance in the world has which makes it the most perfect medium for exchange. It doesn't.
  
  --
  Well.. maybe. Or Maybe not. But Definitely not sort of.
9. Re:"costly equipments" by tehcyder · 2012-07-05 02:51 · Score: 1
  
  Gold has value because of its many industrial uses
  But mainly because it's goldy and shiny.
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
10. Re:"costly equipments" by rubycodez · 2012-07-05 14:39 · Score: 1
  
  in small quantities, the C-13 is $200 / gram. less of course in bulk. the major market right now is pharmy. c12 is waste product of that process, it's cheap.
11. Re:"costly equipments" by OneAhead · 2012-07-08 07:29 · Score: 1
  
  Yes, but just as the C-13 you're talking about is not absolutely pure, I strongly doubt that the waste C12 is 99.99% pure. That's a degree of purity that takes some doing to achieve even when chemical separation methods are available. I'm not saying it's fiendishly difficult, but it will come at a cost. And that's before converting it into diamond and bombarding it with nitrogen.
  
  And again, I've always been talking on a per-bit basis. The number of bits that can be stored in one of these diamonds per unit of mass or volume using current methods has to be orders of magnitude lower than current DDR3 memory, so the diamond would have to be pretty darn cheap to compete with silicon using this (admittedly not entirely fair) criterion.
Excellent! by meta-monkey · 2012-07-04 05:26 · Score: 3, Funny

Diamonds instead of costly equipment? Excellent! This will pair well with my Faberge egg-powered processor.

--
We don't have a state-run media we have a media-run state.
1. Re:Excellent! by l0ungeb0y · 2012-07-04 06:10 · Score: 1
  
  You do know that there are other sorts of diamonds than the pricy rocks sold by DeBeers don't you? Industrial grade diamonds are quite cheap and there are ways now to create diamonds even more perfect that the priciest ornamental gem artificially.
  And if you read the article you might have run across this tidbit
  
  "Using a pair of impurities in ultra-pure, laboratory-grown diamonds..."
  Oh snap!
2. Re:Excellent! by meta-monkey · 2012-07-04 06:33 · Score: 1
  
  You do know you can't power a processor with Faberge eggs, don't you? Oh snap!
  
  --
  We don't have a state-run media we have a media-run state.
Stored at Room Temp For Two Seconds by JustNiz · 2012-07-04 05:46 · Score: 1

Thats nothing. I once ate a qubit.
You win the prize! by EnergyScholar · 2012-07-04 05:55 · Score: 1

You are correct, according to this internet quack. It went online circa 1996. See my other posts for technical details.
Re:Already done by EnergyScholar · 2012-07-04 05:58 · Score: 1

Oops, sorry, technical correction. Not ANY encryption, only encryption based upon principles that can be cracked via QC. Thus, for example, PKI encryption falls instantly, but 3DES is not vulnerable. Of course, if your communication system uses PKI to exchange the secret keys for 3DES, as is standard, then you are hosed.
Room Temperature by rossdee · 2012-07-04 07:21 · Score: 1

"stored at room temperature for 2 seconds"
Room temperature can vary a lot. If your a/c isn't working due to power outage it could be 48C on a day like today and if your heat isn't working in the winter it could be -28C
1. Re:Room Temperature by expatriot · 2012-07-04 08:19 · Score: 1
  
  The original researchers probably meant STP, you can look it up on your own.
Re:Breakfast Qubits Cereal by maxwell+demon · 2012-07-04 07:43 · Score: 1

So you are eating Schrödinger's breakfast?

--
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
Not too shabby by rrohbeck · 2012-07-04 08:01 · Score: 1

given that DRAMs only store a bit reliably for milliseconds yet are the most common electronic storage.

--
thegodmovie.com - watch it
Re:Breakfast Qubits Cereal by drkim · 2012-07-04 08:07 · Score: 1

No...
That stuff will kill you half the time.
Diamonds by wiedzmin · 2012-07-04 09:11 · Score: 1

Finally some practical application that may be used to justify the artificial cost of diamonds.

--
Bow before me, for I am root.
so are we going to get a quantum computer.. by gl4ss · 2012-07-04 09:54 · Score: 1

..that does something a regular computer cannot do - and some demonstration of that any time soon?
(d-wave has nice pr and all.. but wtf does it actually do? have they done practical demonstrations that display an advantage? )

--
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
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Quantum Bigfoot? by digitalsolo · 2012-07-05 01:53 · Score: 1

Reminds me of another quantum storage device...

The old Quantum Bigfoot hard drives could generally be trusted to keep your data intact for about 2 seconds as well.

--
Just another ignorant American.
1. Re:Quantum Bigfoot? by tehcyder · 2012-07-05 02:59 · Score: 1
  
  Reminds me of another quantum storage device... The old Quantum Bigfoot hard drives could generally be trusted to keep your data intact for about 2 seconds as well.
  They weren't very good, but they were cheap.
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
2. Re:Quantum Bigfoot? by digitalsolo · 2012-07-05 03:38 · Score: 1
  
  I worked in computer repair when those drives were common. They would drop the partition table and appear as new, unformatted drives regularly. Humorously you could power them on/off 3-4 times and they'd generally pick the table back up and boot normally. Not particularly reassuring.
  
  --
  Just another ignorant American.