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Dark electrons discovered in solids in superconductor breakthrough

Dark energy is not limited to outer space, many solid materials around us also contain electrons hidden in dark states.

Until now scientists believed that dark electrons, electrons associated with the quantum state of matter, simply don’t exist in solid materials.

However, a new study from…


A new study from researchers at South Korea’s Yonsei University reveals that solid materials do contain dark electrons. The finding will also allow scientists to develop novel superconductor materials.

Test of a prototype quantum internet runs under New York City for half a month

To introduce quantum networks into the marketplace, engineers must overcome the fragility of entangled states in a fiber cable and ensure the efficiency of signal delivery. Now, scientists at Qunnect Inc. in Brooklyn, New York, have taken a large step forward by operating just such a network under the streets of New York City.

Researcher explores how you can stretch your mind to grasp quantum entanglement

My new article, “Quantum Entanglement of Optical Photons: The First Experiment, 1964–67,” is intended to convey the spirit of a small research project that reaches into uncharted territory. The article breaks with tradition, as it offers a first-person account of the strategy and challenges of the experiment, as well as an interpretation of the final result and its significance. In this guest editorial, I will introduce the subject and also attempt to illuminate the question “What is a paradox?”

IBM Wants to Combine Quantum and Classical for the Best of Both Worlds

Some of these problems are as simple as factoring a large number into primes. Others are among the most important facing Earth today, like quickly modeling complex molecules for drugs to treat emerging diseases, and developing more efficient materials for carbon capture or batteries.

However, in the next decade, we expect a new form of supercomputing to emerge unlike anything prior. Not only could it potentially tackle these problems, but we hope it’ll do so with a fraction of the cost, footprint, time, and energy. This new supercomputing paradigm will incorporate an entirely new computing architecture, one that mirrors the strange behavior of matter at the atomic level—quantum computing.

For decades, quantum computers have struggled to reach commercial viability. The quantum behaviors that power these computers are extremely sensitive to environmental noise, and difficult to scale to large enough machines to do useful calculations. But several key advances have been made in the last decade, with improvements in hardware as well as theoretical advances in how to handle noise. These advances have allowed quantum computers to finally reach a performance level where their classical counterparts are struggling to keep up, at least for some specific calculations.

Researchers propose a smaller, more noise-tolerant quantum factoring circuit for cryptography

The most recent email you sent was likely encrypted using a tried-and-true method that relies on the idea that even the fastest computer would be unable to efficiently break a gigantic number into factors.

Quantum computers, on the other hand, promise to rapidly crack complex cryptographic systems that a classical computer might never be able to unravel. This promise is based on a quantum factoring proposed in 1994 by Peter Shor, who is now a professor at MIT.

But while researchers have taken great strides in the last 30 years, scientists have yet to build a quantum computer powerful enough to run Shor’s algorithm.

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