UK researchers take us one step closer to quantum computing
By Darren Murph 
posted March 21st 2009 11:53PM
posted March 21st 2009 11:53PM
You know, at some point we're going to grow tired of just getting closer and demand that we arrive, but thankfully for a smattering of UK-based researchers, we're not yet to that point. Reportedly, brainiacs from Edinburgh and Manchester University have created a molecular machine that could be used to develop quantum computers for making "intricate calculations" far more quickly than current supercomputers. Essentially, these gurus relied on molecular scale technology instead of silicon chips; more specifically, they achieved the so-called breakthrough by "combining tiny magnets with molecular machines that can shuttle between two locations without the use of external force." Not surprisingly, there's still more work to be done, with Professor David Leigh of Edinburgh University noting that "the major challenges we face now are to bring many of these qubits together to build a device that could perform calculations, and to discover how to communicate between them." In other words, check back in 2012.
Check back in 2150, maybe they'll be "much closer" by that time.
People kept saying we were "pretty close" to building a flying machine for hundreds of years. But then it did happen, so people out there thinking quantum computing won't happen .. have some faith.
One of the Wright brothers, after suffering a disappointing failure .. said mankind was 1000 years away from achieving heavier than air flight. Of course he proved himself wrong pretty quickly by simply not giving up. http://www.first-to-fly.com/History/Wright%20Story/thousand.htm
Ever heard of exponents?
So... your argument is "If we can build an airplane, we can build a quantum computer"? On a related note, if we can put a man on the moon, surely we can cure death.
Yeah, I'll be waiting with bated breath.
Just remember not to stop breathing!
@JS
Some people keep saying that they are "getting closer" while others just do it. I prefer news of second.
Well maybe you should get off your butt and make a a quantum computer, JS. Don't give up!
See about the real first Fly!! He used only an airplane to fly!!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Santos-Dumont
Thanks for your attention!!
bye!
A few years from now, "That jump from 4ghz to 100ghz was a fun time for developers... too bad we only have 256GB of ram."
256GB of ram ought to be enough for anybody
640GB RAM is all anyone will ever need.
In the meantime, it's time to shed the crutches that are silicone: We've reached the limits of the switching speed of silicon; haven't you been wondering why the clock speeds stopped increasing and everyone started producing chips with multiple-and intrinsically less efficient (redundant) cores? Industrial diamond has a switching speed magnitudes faster than silicone, and it's just as cheap to produce.
Yeah, silicone's nothing but bad news. I've heard that saline solution is a much better way to go.
It's true that Silicon can't be pushed much more than we're already pushing it, but I don't think that's why clock speeds have settled.
I think it's because multiple cores are just better. With two cores, you can run two operations at the exact same time. With well threaded code, that's like doubling the clock speed.
Actually it is, multiple cores are in fact much worse, the introduce increasing amounts of redundancy with each core, an a larger part of the available, non-redundant processing power must be used to remove the redundant data. This is assuming perfect coding and full utilization of both cores, each of which is nearly impossible and ignores the fact that many programs are still written with little or no muti-core support.
don't shed my crutches yet, I am still reading the article!
In all seriousness, if industrial diamond is so much better and just as cheap, why on earth hasn't one of the manufacturers switched (pun!) to it?
Because of the barrier to entry: They would have to rebuild their fabrication plants from the ground up, which no one is willing to do yet.
Switching to a faster material will allow us to improve clock speeds, but eventually we'll need to go multi-core with that material, too.
Even if the increase in clock speed allowed 4X more operations per second, eventually somebody will point out that if we had a dual-core version of that, we'd have an 8X increase.
Redundant cores are only redundant because single-threaded code today isn't using them properly. We can't keep chasing faster and faster materials without ever needing to code multi-core - it's too expensive and it doesn't scale over time. Benchmarks on single and multi-core processors have shown that you can get real performance increases by writing well threaded code.
Of course, we should be looking at faster materials, too. It's just wrong to slate the current multi-core roadmaps as being intrinsically deficient - when it's used right, it can deliver real benefits.
I've got a friend who is doing his PhD work on industrial diamonds and computing. It's quite fascinating stuff! He seems to think that it's not really that far away(at least in the industrial sense. probably much longer in the area of the average user)--five or so years before there is a solid enough model and, according to him, "a ridiculous jump in computation abilities" to warrant the shift from silicon. I definitely can't wait!
diamond you say...
So I can wear my CPU on a chain now and look gangsta?
Real geeks do that already with Socket 5 CPU's
Frakin' Cylons...
So they built Deep Thought, which will inturn devise the computer which will answer everything about life the universe and everything. This computer will be called "earth".
Why is it always "Earth"? I'm going to petition them to call it "Beverley".
I always wondered, when John Connor and is rowdy crew of young whippersnappers finally bring down the machines and establish a new society, will mankind return to science? Or will the first natural-born cyborg baby be the one to bring the peace?
Quandam phone, makes me roam,
to the place I belong,
old Black Rocky, country byway,
quandam phone, it’s on roam
In the UK "brainiacs" are known as "boffins".
Please use accordingly,
Regards,
etc.
Only if you read The Sun, the rest of us call them scientists...
gurantee apple makes the first quantum phone 54 years from now
Yeah, and it still won't support multi-tasking.
Repeat after me: for the vast majority of calculations, quantum computers are likely no faster than a traditional computer. There will very likely never be a need for there to be any sort of quantum processor in a consumer electronic device.
Never say never.
Cool small and fast processors, low power cosumption.
Allthough it will require a new way of programming, its gonna be great.
I wonder, im 20 right now, will i live to see all this future stuff, space-travel, quantum computing, fusion, meta-materials, a greener cleaner earth, a little more peace, a little more altruism, less racism, no religions.
If i dont, well too bad ey, i'll go out with a smile knowing and hoping the next generation will make the right choices.
No Religions? There will always be some sort of belief system, it's a fundamental core of humanity and peace I'm afraid is never going to happen. There is always going to be someone who disagrees with someone else, for peace, a person must become an opinionless emotionless drone and if that happens, there'd just be no point. If anything, it's likely going to get worse.
As for the other stuff, It took man less than 100 years to go from a top speed of 40mph to 24,000mph, so, who knows.
Will it play Crysis?
Yes.
2012 huh, So that is what the Maya's predicted for 2012 right...
Aeolia Schenberg's VEDA.
:-P
Not just VEDA, that also means we'll have infinite energy engines by then.
And Gundams.
omigosh, and Haros!!!
2012, the year I graduate from computer engineering and everything changes on me. Cool. (Not)
Xeno's Paradox: You can keep getting closer, but you can never arrive.
Give 'em some time, folks. Science is hard.
I knew someone would bring Gundams and Veda into this lol
Buzzword fail. I don't see how this is "quantum" anything, this is just molecular-level computing.
Impressive, but someone is way overselling it.
This is what I've been saying all along. It's like duh guys.