The Quantum Computer that Dosn't Run
Saturday, March 11, 2006
A couple of weeks ago I recieved a very interesting email from my dad about an article in NewScientist. It was about a quantum computer that... doesn't run? Well, I though, this has got to be interesting. So I read....
Even for the crazy world of quantum mechanics, this one is twisted. A
quantum computer program has produced an answer without actually running.
The idea behind the feat, first proposed in 1998, is to put a quantum
computer into a “superposition”, a state in which it is both running and
not running. It is as if you asked Schrödinger's cat to hit "Run".
With the right set-up, the theory suggested, the computer would
sometimes get an answer out of the computer even though the program did
not run. And now researchers from the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign have improved on the original design and built a
non-running quantum computer that really works.
They send a photon into a system of mirrors and other optical devices,
which included a set of components that run a simple database search by
changing the properties of the photon.
The new design includes a quantum trick called the Zeno effect. Repeated
measurements stop the photon from entering the actual program, but allow
its quantum nature to flirt with the program's components - so it can
become gradually altered even though it never actually passes through.
"It is very bizarre that you know your computer has not run but you also
know what the answer is," says team member Onur Hosten.
This scheme could have an advantage over straightforward quantum
computing. "A non-running computer produces fewer errors," says Hosten.
That sentiment should have technophobes nodding enthusiastically.
Even for the crazy world of quantum mechanics, this one is twisted. A
quantum computer program has produced an answer without actually running.
The idea behind the feat, first proposed in 1998, is to put a quantum
computer into a “superposition”, a state in which it is both running and
not running. It is as if you asked Schrödinger's cat to hit "Run".
With the right set-up, the theory suggested, the computer would
sometimes get an answer out of the computer even though the program did
not run. And now researchers from the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign have improved on the original design and built a
non-running quantum computer that really works.
They send a photon into a system of mirrors and other optical devices,
which included a set of components that run a simple database search by
changing the properties of the photon.
The new design includes a quantum trick called the Zeno effect. Repeated
measurements stop the photon from entering the actual program, but allow
its quantum nature to flirt with the program's components - so it can
become gradually altered even though it never actually passes through.
"It is very bizarre that you know your computer has not run but you also
know what the answer is," says team member Onur Hosten.
This scheme could have an advantage over straightforward quantum
computing. "A non-running computer produces fewer errors," says Hosten.
That sentiment should have technophobes nodding enthusiastically.
