Quantum Leap for Computing
By Hannah Isom
Physicists at Bonn University in Germany have taken a quantum leap on the path to super-speedy computation by using "laser tweezers" to sort atoms and line them up, ready for use in calculations.
With our ever increasing demand for bigger, better and faster computing power, many scientists agree that the way forward is the development of quantum computers. The theory is that quantum computers would harness the power of atoms to perform memory and processing tasks billions of times faster than the silicon-based ones we use today.
Classical computers have a memory made up of bits which can contain either a 1 or a 0. The device computes by passing these bits from memory to logic gates and back again. A quantum computer on the other hand would have a memory of qbits, representing individual atoms working together in an altogether more q-tastic manner.
The research team, headed by Dr. Rauschenbeutel and Professor Meschede, achieved this by loading several caesium atoms onto a "conveyor belt" of laser beams made up of peaks and troughs of light, a bit like a sheet of corrugated iron. In order to perform calculations with the atoms, they must be placed exactly so they are equal distances away from one another. Here's where the laser tweezers come in!
The "tweezers" consist of more laser beams oriented at a right angle to the conveyor belt. As the conveyor belt moves along, the laser tweezers pluck out the misplaced atoms, plop them back in the correct position and hey presto - up to seven atoms sorted neatly in a row, all in 2 seconds flat! The team's findings are reported in the latest issue of Nature.
The Bonn research team now wants to construct a quantum gate, where these atoms can be coordinated to act in a controlled way. If successful, this may be the next milestone for physicists on their on the journey to the quantum computer.
For more information check out http://www.uni-bonn.de or visit our buddies at howstuffworks.com: http://computer.howstuffworks.com/quantum-computer.htm
To read more about Hannah and view more of her articles click here
Share this
