Lifeboat Foundation

Researchers have developed a computer algorithm that doesn’t solve problems but instead creates them for the purpose of evaluating quantum computers.

The desire for quantum computers stems from their potential to solve certain hard problems faster than classical computers. But those bragging rights haven’t actually been earned yet, as no experiment has shown this presumed speedup. Researchers from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, and the Complutense University of Madrid, Spain, have devised an algorithm that generates extra hard problems that could offer quantum computers the chance to prove their worth.

The problems that the team focused on belong to the general class of optimization problems. The main example is the Ising model, which describes the interaction of a large number of spins within a lattice. The goal is to find the ground state, which is the orientation of spins that minimizes the interaction energy. The problem is computationally hard because there are many local minima (pseudo-ground-states) that can fool a search algorithm.

New options in harvesting light.

Significant new potentials for light harvesting through narrowing the bandgap of titania and graphene quantum dots have been uncovered by scientists.

Very nice.

Out of the Fog and Hypres win contracts to develop cryogenic radio frequency systems and quantum memory technologies.

Is search of the sound of silence.

To a physicist, perfect quiet is the ultimate noise. Silence your cellphone, still your thoughts, and muffle every kind of vibration, and you would still be left with quantum noise. It represents an indeterminacy deep within nature, bursts of static and inexplicable motions that cannot be gotten rid of, or made sense of. It seems devoid of meaning.

Considering how pervasive this noise is, you might presume that physicists would have a good explanation for it. But it remains one of the great unsolved problems in science. Quantum theory is silent not just on where the noise comes from, but on how exactly it enters the world. The theory’s defining equation, the Schrödinger equation, is completely deterministic. There is no noise in it at all. To explain why we observe quantum particles to be noisy, we need some additional principle.

Continue reading “The Noise at the Bottom of the Universe” »

He may or may not be joking.

Very nice.

Researchers from Northrop Grumman, working with DARPA, have developed two different amplifiers capable of using the THz range of the spectrum, which could lead to a new range of high-speed, secure communications.

DARPA’s self-repairing security system’s challenge.

In a few weeks, a town better known for events like the World Series of Poker will host the World Series of Hacking.

Continue reading “You say you want a revolution: DARPA’s Cyber Grand Challenge” »

If you are interested in the work of SENS and how Dr Haroldo Silva and his team are looking for ways to treat cancer why not come along and join them?

There is going to be a SENS AMA on Reddit with Aubrey de Grey and OncoSENS researcher Haroldo Silva. Ask them anything about SENS and the long term goal of developing universal cancer therapies.

FUTUROLOGY JULY 19TH 1 pm EST/10 am PST/6 pm BST.

Continue reading “Dr Aubrey de Grey is doing an AMA 19th in Reddit Futurology 1pm EST/6pm BST” »

Sad for Russia.

President Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials dream of a technological leap that could immediately close the gap between Russia and more advanced economies, as Sputnik did for the Soviet Union. The hyperloop, a kind of train in a tube that can reach speeds of up to 700 mph, fits that dream, and a well-connected Russian businessman has invested in it — only to see the project become embroiled in a lawsuit involving a Silicon Valley startup’s founders and claims of financial mismanagement.

Elon Musk, Tesla’s chief executive, proposed the hyperloop four years ago. This “fifth mode of transport” would involve a system of practically airless tubes through which magnetically levitated pods could carry passengers and cargo. Musk has not set up a company to bring the project to reality, but others have. For example, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, wants to build a system in Slovakia. Another, Hyperloop One, offered a public demonstration of some elements of its technology in May.

Continue reading “Russia’s hyperloop dream is undone” »