Lifeboat Foundation

Even in the world of the smallest particles with their own special rules, things cannot proceed infinitely fast. Physicists at the University of Bonn have now shown what the speed limit is for complex quantum operations. The study also involved scientists from MIT, the universities of Hamburg, Cologne and Padua, and the Jülich Research Center. The results are important for the realization of quantum computers, among other things. They are published in the prestigious journal Physical Review X, and covered by the Physics Magazine of the American Physical Society.

Featuring a built-in computer, the Ultima shotgun envisages WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity and can synchronize with smart phones. It is intended to woo younger clients such as gadget enthusiasts.

Russian arms manufacturer Kalashnikov plans to start making its AK-203 assault rifle in India this year and wants to attract a wider audience with a hi-tech shotgun, chief executive Dmitry Tarasov said.

8 oct 2020.

MIT researchers using superconducting quantum bits connected to a microwave transmission line have shown how the qubits can generate on demand the photons, or particles of light, necessary for communication between quantum processors.

10 November 2020

Qudit is a multi-level computational unit alternative to the conventional 2-level qubit. Compared to qubit, qudit provides a larger state space to store and process information, and thus can provide reduction of the circuit complexity, simplification of the experimental setup and enhancement of the algorithm efficiency. This review provides an overview of qudit-based quantum computing covering a variety of topics ranging from circuit building, algorithm design, to experimental methods. We first discuss the qudit gate universality and a variety of qudit gates including the pi/8 gate, the SWAP gate, and the multi-level controlled-gate. We then present the qudit version of several representative quantum algorithms including the Deutsch-Jozsa algorithm, the quantum Fourier transform, and the phase estimation algorithm.

Sandia Labs pioneers Just Another Quantum Assembly Language (.

Quantum computing arguably isn’t quite full-fledged computing till there’s quantum software as well as hardware. One open-source quantum computer project at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico aims to address this disparity with a custom-made assembly language for quantum computation.

The quartz oscillator is an important electronic circuit, providing highly-accurate timing signals at a low cost. A quartz crystal has the special property of piezoelectricity, changing its electrical properties as it vibrates. Since a crystal can be cut to vibrate at a very precise frequency, quartz oscillators are useful for many applications. Quartz oscillators were introduced in the 1920s and provided accurate frequencies for radio stations. Wristwatches were revolutionized in the 1970s by the use of highly-accurate quartz oscillators. Computers use quartz oscillators to generate their clock signals, from ENIAC in the 1940s to modern computers. 1

A quartz crystal requires additional circuitry to make it oscillate, and this analog circuitry can be tricky to design. In the 1970s, crystal oscillator modules became popular, combining the quartz crystal, an integrated circuit, and discrete components into a compact, easy-to-use module. Curious about the contents of these modules, I opened one up and reverse-engineered the chip inside. In this blog post, I discuss how the module works and examine the tiny CMOS integrated circuit that runs the oscillator. There’s more happening in the module than I expected, so I hope you find it interesting.

When enough anomalies accumulate over time, paradigms change. We may be close to that inflection point right now. At this juncture of technoscientific progress, the boldest of us may admit that we’re overdue for the next post-materialist paradigm: Conventional scientific method is already bankrupt and needs to be supplanted by AI-powered quantum neo-empiricism, computational thinking and the cybernetic approach to reality.

#materialism #physicalism #philosophy #scientificmethod #evolutionarycybernetics

“The only reality is mind and observations but observations are not of things. To see the Universe as it really is, we must abandon our…

Continue reading “Why Materialism is a Flatlander Philosophy” »

A technique for controlling the orientation of manufactured DNA shapes now removes one of the last barriers for the combination of molecular devices with conventional semiconductor chips.

The Colorado Economic Development Commission normally doesn’t throw its weight behind unproven startups, but it did so on Thursday, approving $2.9 million in state job growth incentive tax credits to try and land a manufacturing plant that will produce hardware for quantum computers.

“Given the broad applications and catalytic benefits that this company’s technology could bring, retaining this company would help position Colorado as an industry leader in next-generation and quantum computing,” Michelle Hadwiger, the deputy director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development & International Trade, told commissioners.

Project Quantum, the codename for the Denver-based startup, is looking to create up to 726 new full-time jobs in the state. Most of the positions would staff a new facility making components for quantum computers, an emerging technology expected to increase computing power and speed exponentially and transform the global economy as well as society as a whole.