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Category: computing – Page 79

Physicist revisits the computational limits of life and Schrödinger’s essential question in the era of quantum computing

More than 80 years ago, Erwin Schrödinger, a theoretical physicist steeped in the philosophy of Schopenhauer and the Upanishads, delivered a series of public lectures at Trinity College, Dublin, which eventually came to be published in 1944 under the title “What is Life?”

Now, in the 2025 International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, Philip Kurian, a and founding director of the Quantum Biology Laboratory (QBL) at Howard University in Washington, D.C., has used the laws of quantum mechanics, which Schrödinger postulated, and the QBL’s discovery of cytoskeletal filaments exhibiting quantum optical features, to set a drastically revised upper bound on the computational capacity of carbon-based life in the entire history of Earth.

Published in Science Advances, Kurian’s latest work conjectures a relationship between this information-processing limit and that of all matter in the observable universe.

Scientists Crack the Hidden Code of Quantum Entanglement

Physicists have made a major leap in our understanding of quantum entanglement by fully mapping out the statistics it can produce – essentially decoding the language of the quantum world.

This breakthrough reveals how the bizarre but powerful correlations in quantum systems can be used to test, secure, and certify the behavior of quantum devices, all without knowing their inner workings. The ability to self-test even partially entangled systems now opens doors to more robust quantum communication, encryption, and computing methods. It’s a game-changer for both fundamental physics and real-world quantum tech.

Cracking the code of quantum entanglement.

Neil deGrasse Tyson Breaks in Tears “Google Quantum Chip Just Proved Einstein’s Theory WRONG”

Our machines will be smart enough and eventually we will through intelligence enhancement.

For over a century, Einstein’s theories have been the bedrock of modern physics, shaping our understanding of the universe and reality itself. But what if everything we thought we knew was just the surface of a much deeper truth? In February 2025, at Google’s high-security Quantum A-I Campus in Santa Barbara, a team of scientists gathered around their latest creation — a quantum processor named Willow. What happened next would leave even Neil deGrasse Tyson, one of the world’s most renowned astrophysicists, in tears. This is the story of how a cutting-edge quantum chip opened a door that many thought would remain forever closed, challenging our most fundamental beliefs about the nature of reality. This is a story you do not want to miss.

Qudit Quantum Computer

This Quantum Computer Simulates the Hidden Forces That Shape Our Universe

The study of elementary particles and forces is of central importance to our understanding of the universe. Now a team of physicists from the University of Innsbruck and the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) at the University of Waterloo show how an unconventional type of quantum computer opens a new door to the world of elementary particles.

Credit: Kindea Labs

New superconducting state discovered: Cooper-pair density modulation

Superconductivity is a quantum physical state in which a metal is able to conduct electricity perfectly without any resistance. In its most familiar application, it enables powerful magnets in MRI machines to create the magnetic fields that allow doctors to see inside our bodies. Thus far, materials can only achieve superconductivity at extremely low temperatures, near absolute zero (a few tens of Kelvin or colder).

But physicists dream of superconductive materials that might one day operate at room temperature. Such materials could open entirely new possibilities in areas such as , the energy sector, and medical technologies.

“Understanding the mechanisms leading to the formation of superconductivity and discovering exotic new superconducting phases is not only one of the most stimulating pursuits in the fundamental study of quantum materials but is also driven by this ultimate dream of achieving room-temperature superconductivity,” says Stevan Nadj-Perge, professor of applied physics and materials science at Caltech.

Beyond ambiguous reflections: Bridging optical 3D metrology and computer vision

Accurate and robust 3D imaging of specular, or mirror-like, surfaces is crucial in fields such as industrial inspection, medical imaging, virtual reality, and cultural heritage preservation. Yet anyone who has visited a house of mirrors at an amusement park knows how difficult it is to judge the shape and distance of reflective objects.

This challenge also persists in science and engineering, where the accurate 3D imaging of specular surfaces has long been a focus in both optical metrology and computer vision research. While specialized techniques exist, their inherent limitations often confine them to narrow, domain-specific applications, preventing broader interdisciplinary use.

In a study published in the journal Optica, University of Arizona researchers from the Computational 3D Imaging and Measurement (3DIM) Lab at the Wyant College of Optica l Sciences present a novel approach that significantly advances the 3D imaging of specular surfaces.

Newly developed waveguide device protects photonic quantum computers from errors

Together with an international team of researchers from the Universities of Southern California, Central Florida, Pennsylvania State and Saint Louis, physicists from the University of Rostock have developed a novel mechanism to safeguard a key resource in quantum photonics: optical entanglement. Their discovery is published in Science.

Declared as the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology by the United Nations, 2025 marks 100 years since the initial development of quantum mechanics. As this strange and beautiful description of nature on the smallest scales continues to fascinate and puzzle physicists, its quite tangible implications form the basis of modern technology as well as , and are currently in the process of revolutionizing information science and communications.

A key resource to quantum computation is so-called entanglement, which underpins the protocols and algorithms that make quantum computers exponentially more powerful than their classical predecessors. Moreover, entanglement allows for the secure distribution of encryption keys, and entangled photons provide increased sensitivity and noise resilience that dramatically exceed the classical limit.

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