Quantum Processor

[Big.Wayne]

"Today’s CPUs have already reached higher heat density than a nuclear reactor, and maintaining Moore’s Law will be a considerable challenge once five nanometer gates are achieved" - Alan Dang

So apparently at some point in the not too distant future . . . processor technology is going to hit a brick wall using it's current silicon based fabrication . . . some us us have 65nm chips, others are using 45nm and the lucky few are playing with their 32nm weenies! . . . however this shrinking process cannot go on forever can it? . . . I'm reading that once 5nm is reached there will be issues of electron tunneling, Wormholes and other things I have no idea about!

So what we gonna do in The Future? . . . is it going to be a parallelism fest with hundreds of regular processors working side by side ("128 core is sooo last year don't yer know!") executing multiple computational threads . . . or is this Quantum Computing thing gonna take off?

I don't really know very much about this subject and I'm not even sure what "Quantum" actually means? . . . what does Wikipedia say . . .

"In physics, a quantum (plural: quanta) is the minimum unit of any physical entity involved in an interaction. An example of an entity that is quantized is the energy transfer of elementary particles of matter (called fermions) and of photons and other bosons. The word comes from the Latin "quantus", for "how much." Behind this, one finds the fundamental notion that a physical property may be "quantized", referred to as "quantization". This means that the magnitude can take on only certain discrete numerical values, rather than any value, at least within a range. There is a related term of quantum number."

I'm reading Sciencedaily: Quantum Computing News but I'm a Quantum nOOb so would appreciate any feedback from someone who is into this stuff! . . . looks interesting!

Left:Quantum-Clocker David Hanneke tweaks his pair of beryllium ions
Right: James Chin-wen adjusts his Quantum Logic Clock . . . now the Worlds most precise clock based on a single aluminum atom!

 

[Big.Wayne]

Hi Jokester!

Can you repeat but that just imagine your talking to a complete idiot!

 

[Big.Wayne]

Apparently quantum computing has developed a new system to replace binary based on the direction of spin of an atom to give 4 different outcomes as opposed to the standard yes/no of binary

Hey this is some weird ****

"While each qubit is actually made up of a billion aluminum atoms, it acts like a single atom that can occupy two different energy states. These states are akin to the "1" and "0" or "on" and "off" states of regular bits employed by conventional computers. Because of the counterintuitive laws of quantum mechanics, however, scientists can effectively place qubits in a "superposition" of multiple states at the same time, allowing for greater information storage and processing power.

For example, imagine having four phone numbers, including one for a friend, but not knowing which number belonged to that friend. You would typically have to try two to three numbers before you dialed the right one. A quantum processor, on the other hand, can find the right number in only one try.

"Instead of having to place a phone call to one number, then another number, you use quantum mechanics to speed up the process," Schoelkopf said. "It's like being able to place one phone call that simultaneously tests all four numbers, but only goes through to the right one." - ScienceDaily

I think somebody can come up with a better *spin* for what is possible with a quantum processor, I'm not sure I understand the example above!

 

[Big.Wayne]

Who needs to be hampered by the speed of light though when you've got instant quantum shizzle!

instant quantum shizzle . . . I like that!

 

[Big.Wayne]

Hp has said by [2010] there will not be enough progression in technology for people to want to buy new pc's and the entire industry will fall on its knees.

Fixed!

And in 2012 we'll be all gone so we won't make it till 2020 anyways.

Haha nice one PhoenixUK! . . . . I hope everything is ok with you lately but your posts are coming across like your very agitated about something?

If you come across any useful snippets of info on Quantum Processors I wuld be grateful! . . . I'm sure there is something cool/useful about them which hasn't been discussed yet!

 

[Big.Wayne]

Interesting!

I'm thinking Quantum computing could be similar to how you describe this USB-CPU stick except you could just scoop up a few grains of sand to boost your processing power?

 

[Big.Wayne]

Awesome, the thread is rolling and I'm learning stuff!

Thought it would bomb (still could!) but was hoping it would survive long enough to yeild some good info! . . . when gurusan started talking about carbon nanotube chips I felt ridiculously out my depth hah!

Anyway I need to know abit more about this subject but I'm still stumbling at a few basics!

Can anyone help me understand the defination of Quantum? the definition from Wiki in the opening post isn't making the penny drop?

Secondly, a rather profound point I'd like to make and has already been touched on above but I am led to believe that *we* the general public are not made fully aware of the current state of technology, this might sound a bit profound but I'm pretty confident there is quite a large gap between the technological high end we know exists to the actual technological high end that exists in reality . . . i.e we are kept ignorant of the true state (the military has it all!) . . . therefore I'm keen to grasp the concept of what is possible and if it's Quantum technology I'm keen to hoover up as much info as possible, I just need to have that info presented to me in a way I can understand/digest it!

Can someone draw me a picture!

I'd just like to inform people that google now rates this the World's #1 thread on "quantum shizzle"

 

[Big.Wayne]

"revolutionized the understanding of electromagnetic radiation and brought about quantum mechanics"

Hello ran_out, thanks a lot for making that post, I'm getting the picture slowly!

@PhoenixUK: I like those pictures! . . . particulary the "more futuristic one"

 

[Big.Wayne]

Thanks Pneumonic for that great explanation!

superposition . . . check . . . . Qubit . . . . check!

Now I am wondering what "10 teraflops of processing power" means!