Julia Kempe, quantum computing theorist extraordinaire, written up in this nice article on Sciencecareers.org. Hmmm, what is Julia drinking in the second picture?
128 Bit Madness
Get your own 128-bit number here!
Speaking of which, what would happen if I designed a system which used a digital rights management system with my own 128-bit number and used this system to spread the HD-DVD 128-bit number? Then they would have had to cracked your system to know that you had cracked their system… Does the legal system just blow up into an infinite loop at this point?
Speaking of which, how many bits of the number do you have to publish? What if I leave off the last five bits? What about if I create a superposition of numbers such that with a one in one hundred chance you get the right 128-bit string? Is publishing such a quantum state a violation of the DMCA?
0, 1, superposition
Doh, quantum computers are tristate logic devices?
In classical computer science, bits — or binary digits — hold data encoded as ones and zeros. In quantum computing, data is measured in qubits, or quantum bits. As such, a qubit can have three possible states — one, zero or a “superposition” of one and zero.
I mean technically it is correct, I guess (ignorning mixed states), but doesn’t this make it sound like qubits are just three state classical systems? Or is my nitpicky-meter too high?
Shor Math
Feature article at the AMS on The Mathematics Behind Quantum Computing: “This column and next month’s will present a description of Shor’s Factorization Algorithm in terms appropriate for a general mathematical audience…”
They Fired the Quantum Physicist!
Quantum physicist fired from BBC Apprentice TV Show. She was fired by Sir Alan Sugar in a highly non-neutral manner
Delivering his final verdict, Sir Alan said: “This is the real world love, this is not your scientific protons and neutrons.
“I’m wondering, have I got another one here who should really stick to what they know? … You’re fired!”
Closed Timelike Universes?
Time travel makes my head hurt.
Quantum Green Tea
Quantum tunelling used to explain operation of Green Tea antioxidant catechins. This certainly explains why everytime I drink tea my pinky seems to tunnell into a strange pointing position. That or the British side of my family tree.
$150 Million
Muchos dollars to fund Research Centre of Excellence on Quantum Information Science and Technology at the National University of Singapore, lah.
Professor Artur Ekert, Director, Research Centre of Excellence, said: “At the moment, you can buy quantum cryptography systems, you can use it in some simple applications but somehow you have to trust companies that sell it to you or you have to test the equipment.
“The kind of quantum cryptography we develop here is probably the most sophisticated that is not available in any other countries so we have some ideas to make it so secure that you don’t even have to trust equipment that you could buy from a vendor.”
Um, First?
This press release is a horrible bastardization of this cool Science article describing the coherent controlled coupling of flux based superconducting qubits near their optimal bias points. Does everything interesting in quantum computing have to come along with an unreasonable press release? Dude, somebody needs to become the universal vetter for these damn things.
Geordie incites Scott‘s hypometer, but not nearly to the record setting levels of Orion times.
Seen in Hawaii
But are smoking dogs which are not golfing okay? What about dogs which are golfing, but not smoking?