Qubits Stored at Room Temp For Two Seconds

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."

Comments

Re:So say we all

[zrbyte]

First fail, to be more exact.

Absolute zero

[Anonymous Coward]

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.

Re:Absolute zero

[HarrySquatter]

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.

Re:Absolute zero

[__aaltlg1547]

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...

Re:Absolute zero

[tehcyder]

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.

Obligatory Bill Cosby

[Palmateer]

What's a cubit?

Re:'Atomically pure material'

[HarrySquatter]

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.

Re:'Atomically pure material'

[avandesande]

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.

That was quick...

[nightfell]

Two seconds? Sheesh, I can usually at least make it home before my new computer is obsolete.

Apologies...

[Qubit]

...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!

"costly equipments"

[mister_playboy]

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

Re:"costly equipments"

[OneAhead]

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.

Re:'Atomically pure material'

[DanZ23]

Lab made diamonds are pretty damn pure.

Excellent!

[meta-monkey]

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

Re:'Atomically pure material'

[gregski]

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."