Slashdot Mirror
Solid State Quantum Computer Finds 15=3x5 — 48% of the Time
mikejuk writes "The Shor quantum factoring algorithm has been run for the first time on a solid state device and it successfully factored a composite number. A team from UCSB has managed to build and operate a quantum circuit composed of four superconducting phase qubits. The design creates entangled bits faster than before and the team verified that entanglement was happening using quantum tomography. The final part of the experiment implemented the Shor factoring algorithm using 15 as the value to be factored. In 150,000 runs of the calculation, the chip gave the correct result 48% of the time. As Shor's algorithm is only supposed to give the correct answer 50% of the time, this is a good result but not of practical use."
The reason behind the interest behind quantum computers is they have the potential to be exponentially faster. Here's an example that I've read. You have to find a name in a phone book. A regular computer has to search through in a more linear maner. Like you are going from the first page and so on. A quantum computer's manner of getting the answer is based upon probability, what's the likelihood that you'll open the phone book to the right page. In other words, you skip the intermediate steps of searching.
Bad example. A regular computer can do it in log2(N) operations or less. Most people do it in less.
Next time read a whole post before responding and think before you write. You won't sound so dumb that way.
in other words: thank god we have people with actual imagination in this world. what do dull minds like yours contribute exactly?
Machines that work with negligible error rates.