Slashdot Mirror
45-Year Physics Mystery Shows a Path To Quantum Transistors
New submitter cyberspittle sends this research report from the University of Michigan:
An odd, iridescent material that's puzzled physicists for decades turns out to be an exotic state of matter that could open a new path to quantum computers and other next-generation electronics. ... The researchers provide the first direct evidence that samarium hexaboride, abbreviated SmB6, is a topological insulator (abstract). Topological insulators are, to physicists, an exciting class of solids that conduct electricity like a metal across their surface, but block the flow of current like rubber through their interior. They behave in this two-faced way despite that their chemical composition is the same throughout. ... This deeper understanding of samarium hexaboride raises the possibility that engineers might one day route the flow of electric current in quantum computers like they do on silicon in conventional electronics.
Interesting
Open a slipstream portal right away. Let's find that Vedran Empire and be conquered by it!
The point is that we too often hear about these revolutionary scientific concepts but they are forgotten after a week and the tech never materializes into anything.
In the parallel universe I come from we had quantum hard drives more than 2 decades ago.
The summary and the article itself are so fluffy and short that they don't give any useful information about how this material relates to quantum computing, nor why it's properties are significant. There is mention of a class of electrons involved, but not how nor why this particular type of electron is relevant to quantum computing.
It sounds interesting and all, but it would have been nice to have enough information to give one something to think about instead of just having to assume that the high faluting professors know their shit and must be right. :P
I do not fail; I succeed at finding out what does not work.
Isn't that the beer that comes in the cool, silver can?
I think you're thinking of coors, the silver bullet. But that's not beer. That's horse piss in a can.
Isolator is related to resistance to flow of current - an electrical concept, and a lot of it.
Insulator is related to resistance to flow of heat.
I wonder how a whole generation of Americans get that concept wrong every time. Fortunately I live in a country where I don't see that because we don't have terms that differentiate between the two. Since it seems so impossible for Americans to get it right, suggest you move to single term - perhaps that is what is going on.
Another problematic term is insure/ensure where even highly educated Americans seem to prefer to user ensure for everything. Examples include Insure nothing goes wrong - I wonder who will be willing to provide such coverage and pay for the policy when the intended meaning was to ensure nothing goes wrong. This particular term might be attributable to Microsoft (who bough spell check from third party that had insure but not ensure available to use for years)
Still can't help it, I'm a modern life man with a low attention span and want cool results now.
If you want to read about things you can go out and buy in a store next week there are better sources to read than slashdot.
Your local electronics store probably have more information.
So what you are saying, basically, is that you are an idiot.
I think it will yield new ways to construct cloaking devices. No, wait - it's going to revolutionize fusion, or build quantum computers, or teleportation chambers. If we combine it with graphene, it will allow for FTL travel. Future! Future! Future!
But if you don't have any patience or ability to imagine that change is coming, you can always do us a big favor and commit seppuku.
Don't tell him that. We'll always need mindless drones to work the mines.
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
Interestingly this article, also from U Mich, talks about observing Dirac electrons: http://www.ns.umich.edu/new/re...
Alright, back to the caves, everyone!!
SmB6 - is that really Samba v.6? :-)
(Hey, someone was going to post this.)
https://app.box.com/WitthoftResume Code: https://github.com/cellocgw
Quite a bit of it materializes in one way or another, many years later, and no one mentions which /. story the new tech is being used it, but it happens all the time.
The point is that we too often hear about these revolutionary scientific concepts but they are forgotten after a week and the tech never materializes into anything.
Although much of physics is actually for the pure sake of science, it's important to note possible uses to humanity of the science we're developing. Much of the time it's a long shot, but we need to keep working on this stuff even at that rate.
But the end of the silicon transistor is roadmapped. Developments in the near term depend now more than ever on new physics. A slashdot regular should see that. Topological insulators are promising materials for future devices, and on top of that they're the weirdest thing in physics since superconductivity. With only a handful of topologically insulating materials, the discovery of a new material is great news.
Science takes time and effort. If you are interested in real progress, I encourage you to join. If not, at least recognize the difficulty of the task and how much we depend on it, especially with the end of silicon looming.
Every time I hear about (snip) quantum computing (snip), they keep saying "soon soon soon"... Well, what I want to know is when this stuff will leave the research labs and be of any practical use to anyone. Either shit or get off the pot already.
Buck Feta. You know what to do.
So do we have a chemistry nutter troll now, too?
Then stop coming to a tech news site.
This is literally what slashdot is here for.
It's not the end of silicon that's in sight. It's the end of the growth described by Moore's Law, ultimately the end of shrinking silicon devices, and the beginning of either cleverer manufacturing.
It the end of civilization as we know it, depending on how many friends in the semiconductor business you have...
deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
It's not the end of silicon that's in sight. It's the end of the growth described by Moore's Law, ultimately the end of shrinking silicon devices
That's what I was referring to implicitly, but it's also highly likely that silicon devices will be supplanted with III-V's or something else. 1.5nm seems to be the optimistic guess for the end of the line right now, and that's roadmapped for around 2021. 7nm is already dubious and it's slated for around 2018. See e.g. semiengineering.com/will-7nm-and-5nm-really-happen
It the end of civilization as we know it, depending on how many friends in the semiconductor business you have...
I think we've been fortunate to have Moore's law growth continue for so long, so that now we don't really need faster devices. Our current computers and even mobile devices are entirely capable of handling the mass consumer's needs. So while it may not be the end of civ, it's the end of an era where doubling came easy. And the end of silicon (ie the continued shrinking of silicon-based transistors) is pretty much within the next 5-10 years. Which is why physics (solid state physics), including e.g. topological insulators, is so important right now, if you're looking beyond those 5-10.
Leading edge devices will likely depart from silicon, but it's going to be a long time before silicon ceases to be the default material for active electronic devices. Silicon tolerates higher temperatures than some other semiconductors, and having a native insulating oxide is a great advantage. There's a lot of production experience with silicon, and it won't be put aside lightly.
As far as speed is concerned, in my opinion it would be greatly advantageous to have significantly faster devices. I don't like programs that take hours to run.
Contribute to civilization: ari.aynrand.org/donate
I don't drink, personally, because I'm on medication that sometimes has odd and, though rarely, deadly reactions to alcohol. But from what I've heard, it sounds like Europeans make beer that's fun to drink, while American beer manufacturers have simply created an alcohol delivery system and added marketing to it.
When I say the above, I'm simply regurgitating what my dad has said and what I've read online. Bcause, as i said before, I don't actually drink.
We might have a short time where good code becomes important again.
Why is it so hard to only have politicians for a few years, then have them go away?
diamond wafers are already a reality (albeit small sized). Sooner or later we'll step up to carbon semiconductors.