A quantum computer makes use of the fact that a quantum mechanical system -an electron, an atom or even a larger system such as a superconducting quantum bit - can simultaneously exist in two states. Normally one of the two states disappears as soon as the system comes into contact with the outside world. The coherence then disappears as a result of the decoherence process and the information in a quantum bit is lost.
Much to their surprise they discovered that the coherence tends to spontaneously disappear, even without external influences. The degredation process is linked to the occurrence of quantum mechanical spontaneous symmetry breaking. In classical physics an equivalent example of this process is spontaneous crystallisation in a solution. At a certain position a crystal is spontaneously formed, as a result of which the fluid structure is broken.
DISCLAIMER: I am not a boffin...
How do they know it isn't the observation technique that causes the 'instability'. If I read this right, observing the state causes it to disappear.
I wonder how they can get it to taste like different animal meats. I believe most flavor comes from the fat intertwined in the meat, not the meat itself. Meaning 100% lean ground beef would taste the same as 100% lean ground pork.
OK, they're paperback which means the popular ones would wear out quickly. But if you were feeling philanthropic and wanted to give an otherwise sparse school library a boost, I could see it.
You should probably ask them first, though. I'm picturing Monday morning at the hometown library. The UPS rep knocks on the door to get a signature, and the librarian looks up to a couple semi-loads of books starting to be unloaded in their front yard!
This reminds me of Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash. He had a sub-plot centered around these techno-nerds that wired themselves up with a suit of computers and cameras.
They would run around everywhere there might be something remotely interesting going on and capture it. Then they'd copyright it and offer it for sale. If someone wanted it, they paid a royalty and could download it. It was all centered around some big company with lots of storage that made money off of hosting the video and getting it copyrighted. Kind of a higher-tech paparazzi, I guess.
Sure, you could use big, strong, non-geeks to build them.
But the geeks would have to design it!!
The International Registry of Hurlers (and Chunkers) http://www.trebuchet.com/registry/display.php
Honestly, I can see senior executive types shelling out the bucks just to play a few rounds of golf on the biggest golf course available. RFID golf balls to help track them, moon buggies to get you around.
I'm not too sure how they would pull off the beer/cigarette concessions, but where there's a profit there's a way...
But again - the hardware isn't the limitation. Aside from #2, wouldn't it be easier to write these apps in PalmOS or CE than to shoehorn in an OS and start modifying all the apps to work on the PDA?
*Disclaimer* I am not a PDA developer, I have no idea how tough it is to program for them.
OK, we have a team of geeky scientists and engineers (including a cute blonde) launching a vehicle that will deliver a huge payload higher and longer than anything short of a satellite.
Electronics mysteriously stopped working for a while, then resumed.
Does anyone else see the makings of a "B" Sci-Fi/Horror movie here?
But if all the quirks are well documented and distributed to all members of the team, well by gosh this is quality work!!!
And better yet, if you can trace all the requirements through to the test cases, we can even slap a CMM Level 5 on it!!!
That last page raised my eyebrows. 291 Watts under load, that's some serious power draw compared to what I'm used to. And that had to be kicking out some serious heat, too.
Anybody know what is the draw for a 4x Xeon system? I'd be interested in seeing how they compare.
I wonder at what point the facilities people will want to use the server farm to heat the building, too. A weird convergence, the PC world is becoming more like the old mainframe world.
I mean, if we're going to goof around with the genetics just to get this thing born, why stop there? "T-Rex with freakin' LASER BEAMS on their heads..."
Not everybody can afford broadband, you insensitive clod!
Guilty as charged, I've had broadband so long now I find it difficult to picture my life without it.
Actually many corporations do not allow access to outside email systems.
Has anyone seen a written policy regarding USB sticks in their company? I admit to seeing restrictions on HTTP mail, but I've never personally seen a restriction on USB sticks. I would think the latter is a bigger nightmare for corporate security.
GMAIL and Yahoo! mail have so much storage, I hear people are giving up on carrying around USB sticks and just using HTTP mail.
I haven't heard of any security breaches where someone has had access to any appreciable number of files stored on their sites, but I suppose it's just a matter of time.
I heard about this on Coast-to-Coast AM this morning. Richard Hoagland isn't joking when he says it is an artificial construct. And if you put on a tinfoil hat and look at it from askance, it does kinda look like the Death Star.
I've always had excellent peripheral vision, which is a blessing and a curse. It seems to me the flickering is worse when viewed peripherally. I had a co-worker when I was in a 'bull pen' (no cubes, just rows of 'puters) and the flicker on his monitor drove me nuts. My flicker didn't bother me as much, but it was short-lived as I got brave and set mine higher on my own (we where contractors at the time.)
Slashdot Mirror
A quantum computer makes use of the fact that a quantum mechanical system -an electron, an atom or even a larger system such as a superconducting quantum bit - can simultaneously exist in two states. Normally one of the two states disappears as soon as the system comes into contact with the outside world. The coherence then disappears as a result of the decoherence process and the information in a quantum bit is lost.
Much to their surprise they discovered that the coherence tends to spontaneously disappear, even without external influences. The degredation process is linked to the occurrence of quantum mechanical spontaneous symmetry breaking. In classical physics an equivalent example of this process is spontaneous crystallisation in a solution. At a certain position a crystal is spontaneously formed, as a result of which the fluid structure is broken.
DISCLAIMER: I am not a boffin...
How do they know it isn't the observation technique that causes the 'instability'. If I read this right, observing the state causes it to disappear.
I wonder how they can get it to taste like different animal meats. I believe most flavor comes from the fat intertwined in the meat, not the meat itself. Meaning 100% lean ground beef would taste the same as 100% lean ground pork.
Darn, I never have mod points when I come across the really funny ones like this...
OK, they're paperback which means the popular ones would wear out quickly. But if you were feeling philanthropic and wanted to give an otherwise sparse school library a boost, I could see it.
You should probably ask them first, though. I'm picturing Monday morning at the hometown library. The UPS rep knocks on the door to get a signature, and the librarian looks up to a couple semi-loads of books starting to be unloaded in their front yard!
This reminds me of Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash. He had a sub-plot centered around these techno-nerds that wired themselves up with a suit of computers and cameras.
They would run around everywhere there might be something remotely interesting going on and capture it. Then they'd copyright it and offer it for sale. If someone wanted it, they paid a royalty and could download it. It was all centered around some big company with lots of storage that made money off of hosting the video and getting it copyrighted. Kind of a higher-tech paparazzi, I guess.
Sure, you could use big, strong, non-geeks to build them.
But the geeks would have to design it!!
The International Registry of Hurlers (and Chunkers)
http://www.trebuchet.com/registry/display.php
Honestly, I can see senior executive types shelling out the bucks just to play a few rounds of golf on the biggest golf course available.
RFID golf balls to help track them, moon buggies to get you around.
I'm not too sure how they would pull off the beer/cigarette concessions, but where there's a profit there's a way...
But again - the hardware isn't the limitation. Aside from #2, wouldn't it be easier to write these apps in PalmOS or CE than to shoehorn in an OS and start modifying all the apps to work on the PDA?
*Disclaimer* I am not a PDA developer, I have no idea how tough it is to program for them.
OK, we have a team of geeky scientists and engineers (including a cute blonde) launching a vehicle that will deliver a huge payload higher and longer than anything short of a satellite.
Electronics mysteriously stopped working for a while, then resumed.
Does anyone else see the makings of a "B" Sci-Fi/Horror movie here?
But if all the quirks are well documented and distributed to all members of the team, well by gosh this is quality work!!! And better yet, if you can trace all the requirements through to the test cases, we can even slap a CMM Level 5 on it!!!
That last page raised my eyebrows. 291 Watts under load, that's some serious power draw compared to what I'm used to. And that had to be kicking out some serious heat, too.
Anybody know what is the draw for a 4x Xeon system? I'd be interested in seeing how they compare.
I wonder at what point the facilities people will want to use the server farm to heat the building, too. A weird convergence, the PC world is becoming more like the old mainframe world.
I mean, if we're going to goof around with the genetics just to get this thing born, why stop there?
"T-Rex with freakin' LASER BEAMS on their heads..."
Not everybody can afford broadband, you insensitive clod!
Guilty as charged, I've had broadband so long now I find it difficult to picture my life without it.
Actually many corporations do not allow access to outside email systems.
Has anyone seen a written policy regarding USB sticks in their company? I admit to seeing restrictions on HTTP mail, but I've never personally seen a restriction on USB sticks. I would think the latter is a bigger nightmare for corporate security.
GMAIL and Yahoo! mail have so much storage, I hear people are giving up on carrying around USB sticks and just using HTTP mail. I haven't heard of any security breaches where someone has had access to any appreciable number of files stored on their sites, but I suppose it's just a matter of time.
I heard about this on Coast-to-Coast AM this morning. Richard Hoagland isn't joking when he says it is an artificial construct. And if you put on a tinfoil hat and look at it from askance, it does kinda look like the Death Star.
I've always had excellent peripheral vision, which is a blessing and a curse. It seems to me the flickering is worse when viewed peripherally. I had a co-worker when I was in a 'bull pen' (no cubes, just rows of 'puters) and the flicker on his monitor drove me nuts. My flicker didn't bother me as much, but it was short-lived as I got brave and set mine higher on my own (we where contractors at the time.)