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Discovery of a "Flat" Atom Hailed as Quantum Computing Breakthrough
Posted by
ScuttleMonkey
on Wed Jul 02, 2008 03:00 PM
from the breakthroughs-by-mistake dept.
from the breakthroughs-by-mistake dept.
msw writes to tell us that nanoelectronics researchers have discovered a new molecule that could act as a state-manipulable atom due to its unique shape and properties. "Imagine a tiny arsenic atom embedded in a tiny strip of silicon atoms. An electric current is applied. Something strange arises on the surface -- an exotic molecule. On one end is the spherical submerged arsenic atom; on the other end is an 'artificial' flat atom, seemingly 2D, created as an artifact. The pair form an exotic molecule, which has a shared electron, which can be manipulated to be at either end, or in an intermediate quantum state."
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Submission: Dicovery of a "flat" atom for quantum com by Anonymous Coward
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Quick !! Couple the quantum inverters !!! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:How dare you sir !!! (Score:5, Funny)
and those subjects you mentioned are fictional devices from a bad 1980s movie and therefore, Offtopic.
wow.
you are sure you are in the right website ? you surely dont fit well with the demographic here. i would rather chop my own balls than call Back to the Future a bad movie in slashdot.
Parent
Quantum State (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Quantum State (Score:5, Funny)
He meant to say interdeterminatable.
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Re:Quantum State (Score:5, Funny)
Yes, the electron has been interdeterminaterized
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Re:Quantum State (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
Re:Quantum State (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
I propose that we rename "indeterminate state" to "undead cat state", just because it sounds cooler and (sorta) makes sense.
yes, no, duh (Score:2)
In any analog system without hysteresis, and thus many digital systems too, you go through an unknown state as you transition from low to high.
IIRC, which I probably don't, quantum computing's indeterminate state is a bit more than just "unknown". It allows the calculation to be done with essentially "wildcard bits" that, when resolved magically give us the answer. THis essentially allows multiple parallel calculations. Unknown does not give us that.
Re:Quantum State (Score:5, Insightful)
qubits have 3 possible states 1 0 and indeterminate.
Not true! Qubits have an infinite number of possible states. Imagine that your classical bit is represented as either an arrow pointing up for 1 and an arrow pointing down as -1. A quantum bit is like an arrow that can be pointed in the up direction, the down direction, or any other direction (it basically constrained to the surface of a sphere).
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
"that -1 should have been a 0. Sorry."
I get the feeling quantum computers are going to have to say that a lot.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Quantum Computing is going to seriously mess with those who worked so hard to accept that (1 OR 0) = 1.
Re:Quantum State (Score:4, Informative)
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
Don't you mean indeterminate quantum state?
Well, that's indeterminate... [angryflower.com]
What do they mean by an "atom"? (Score:5, Insightful)
I suspect that they mean some kind of artifact that behaves like an atom for certain useful purposes, but without explaining what that artifact is and what makes it behave like an atom they're not actually explaining anything.
Re:What do they mean by an "atom"? (Score:5, Interesting)
Yeah, the title of this should be "found a flat 'atom'" which should be in quotes, not the "flat" part.
The artifact is definitely flat, but the "atom" is a virtual one. Much like an atom of Positronium, where an electron is circling around a positron (anti-electron). Positronium acts chemically exactly like Hydrogen, because chemistry is based on the electron shell, not the actual atom inside (the different elements are all distinguished by how many electrons they have in orbit, as well how much or little they want to keep electrons.)
So, this "atom" that they're referring to doesn't actually exist as a "physical" object, but rather it's an artifact as you mentioned, and if an electron were to just kind of oddly orbit around an empty space, chemically, it's a hydrogen atom.
Parent
Re:What do they mean by an "atom"? (Score:4, Funny)
Ah, now it makes more sense.
And now for something completely different...
And to demonstrate that there is nothing so weird that the quacks won't latch onto it, when I googled on Positronium I discovered that someone is claiming that they have a homeopathic remedy created from the decay of Positronium.
http://www.hominf.org/posi/posifr.htm [hominf.org]
Such gems as Since positronium is made up of both particle and anti-particle, it assumes a position mid way between matter and anti-matter. When it decays, it is converted into a pulse of pure energy. This threefold state has been picked up by a number of provers for whom the number 3 was prevalent in dreams and waking experiences. It also provides a convenient way to arrange and "map" (to see the map, a visual representation of the remedy, click here) the symptoms and themes of the proving, as we shall see later.
Holy mother of Mendeleev, what a load of collywobbles.
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
Jesus! Where is this guy even GETTING positronium.
According to Wikipedia, Positronium has three different lifetimes depending upon how the positron is compared to the atom. Either picoseconds, or at best, they think about 1.1 millisecond.
Unless this guy is making his positronium _IN_ the water... hell, it won't even MAKE it to the proving phase where you bang it...
Not to mention positrons are extremely expensive... we've spent millions if not billions of dollars on anti-mater, and we've made maybe a gram
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Positronium acts chemically exactly like Hydrogen, because chemistry is based on the electron shell, not the actual atom inside (the different elements are all distinguished by how many electrons they have in orbit, as well how much or little they want to keep electrons.)
The different elements are all distinguished by the number of PROTONS in the nucleus of an atom. This is one of the most basic concepts in chemistry, and is the basis for the periodic table.
Additionally, the differences between hydrogen and deuterium (hydrogen with an extra neutron) can have significant effects on their reactivity. For example, if you drank nothing but D2O instead of H2O, you would die because of their differing physical properties.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_water [wikipedia.org]
"Mammals such as rats given heavy water to drink die after a week, at a time when their body water approaches about 50% deuteration."
A 50% body water weight of deuterium is hardly a significant LD50.
The number of PROTONS in a substance most greatly effects the number of ELECTRONS that the substance will have. Chemically, the ELECTRONS are the acting agents... Nuclear physics deals with properties of atoms at the nucleus. Chemistry only deals with the number of electrons (or more rather, the specific attra
Re: (Score:2)
Rereading your comment:
Re: (Score:2)
So what does "a synthetic atom with an unknown proton/neutron character" mean?
Re:What do they mean by an "atom"? (Score:4, Informative)
It means that chemically, there is an "atom" there, but that no one knows what is actually in the nucleus, or trapping the electron at all. Something is, but no one knows what is in there. Likely, nothing... it's the magnetic field making the electron act like there's an atom there.
Still, this is way cool... imaginary matter!
Parent
"Tiny Arsenic Atom" ?? (Score:5, Funny)
Is there a big variety I'm unaware of?
The article is exiting gibberish (Score:4, Interesting)
1. That quantum computing needs vastly fewer bits to represent data. I thought it dealt with multiple possibilities simultaneously, but that the final reality just needed small number of bits. (Ideal for encryption cracking. Crap for storing a database)
2. That a synthetic atom was created. OK. I used to be a chemist. A new non-peridic table atom is heresy to me. But that extraordinary claim seemed to be nothing more than an odd electrical state, acting as if an unknown atom was present.
3. A molecule was created. Covalent bonds and the like. Except that it seemed to be an arsenic atom buried in a matrix. Not a separate molecule at all.
4. That faster than light communication is possible. I thought that collapsing entanglement does appear to happen faster than light, but that no information transfer happens. Mind you, that's my memory of my take on a New Scientist comment some time back. My brain has its share of garbage. Compost help ideas grow.
I suspect there is great science here being reported as little more than magic.
Re:The article is exiting gibberish (Score:5, Informative)
Imagine that if you want, but it isn't how it works.
A quantum bit can actually be in many different states; any weighted superposition of the 0 state and the 1 state, in fact. But you can't look at it and say "ah, right now it's in an indeterminate state"; when you read it, it collapses to either the 0 state or the 1 state. Its state prior to observation only determines the odds that you'll see the 0 state vs. the 1 state when you read it; you can only read it as being in one or the other.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
That's not how it works. You can't measure an indeterminate state. I'm not even sure what you mean by "element."
If I've got some sets of pair entangled particles and I give you one half of each pair, then I manipulate my set and you measure your set, if we compare notes we'll find out that our measurements agree with each other (actually, in most cases they disagree perfectly, but that's just a detail).
The catch is that you can only observe the effect after we get together and compare notes. You can only
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Yes, I read The Fabric of Cosmos. And that's what actually gave me the idea before I ever heard of John Cramer's planned experiment. Remember Greene's example of an experimental setup which specifically stated that if you measure the entangled stream, it would cause the interference pattern to disappear in the original stream. It seems obvious that this can be used for communication. As you said, measuring a single photon would not be enough - a pattern needs many "dots". But if you switch the device o
Wil McCarthy's Wellstone... (Score:3, Informative)
Wil McCarthy insists that his Wellstone... an artificial state of matter (or something of that nature) involving a grid of pseudo-atoms... isn't entirely science fiction.
The Wellstone
The Collapsium
Lost in Transition
To Crush the Moon
Warning: I haven't been able to bring myself to read the final book in this series, the previous books have set it up as a serious downer and I've already got enough stress in my life as it is.
and 640k should be enough for everyone (Score:2, Interesting)
I, for one... (Score:2, Funny)
am tired of these flat molecules. I want the largest, firmest and the most ample molecules that I can get my hands on...
Wait... was thinking of something else. Never mind.
Happy Accident (Score:3, Funny)
from the breakthroughs-by-mistake dept.
There's a word for that, just on the tip of my mind, meaning happy accident... ah yes: schadenfreude.
FTF Summary (Score:3, Funny)
All I was able to grasp was
Imagine ...
Reading everything after caused my brain to spin into the guard rail.
Not sure, but sounds tasty (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:Sure (Score:4, Insightful)
Uh, two points:
1. There already exists an issue with the amount of toxic chemicals in most computers today.
http://maine.gov/dep/rwm/recycle/computerrecy.htm [maine.gov]
"A typical processor and monitor contain five to eight pounds of lead and heavy metals such as cadmium, mercury and arsenic."
2. When you are dealing with quantum levels a gram of any element has a lot of area to work in and they are suspending the toxic bit with a field of silicon.
"Imagine a tiny arsenic atom embedded in a tiny strip of silicon atoms..."
Parent
Re:Sure (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
So since I work in the office support industry I can attest to seeing way more CRTs than LCDs in use by the cubicle users. I has been getting much better but they're still out there and in use, and for sale at best buy and pc connection type stores. CDW sells them online and in catalog. They have a 15" viewsonic for 129.00 in stock even.
The point I was making was that the hardware out there has had toxic chemicals inside for quite a while and probably in greater quantities than we can expect from quantum ma
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Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Sure (Score:5, Insightful)
There is nothing wrong with using toxic substances. The problem is how you process it, and recycle or dispose of it. I'm sure the car you drive to work has a serious amount of Toxins. We only need to be sure that we allow a proper reclaim process.
A good example is the lead acid battery in your car. You get charged $5 for every new battery that you buy if you don't recycle the old one.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
>There is nothing wrong with using toxic substances...
Yep, it's even in the tapwater you drink, use to cook and wash and brush your teeth.
http://www.organicconsumers.org/corp/arsenic.cfm [organicconsumers.org]
Re:Mod grandparent 'troll', not 'insightful' (Score:4, Interesting)
Half NaCl, half KCl, IIRC.
Too much potassium can be bad for you though, so you shouldn't dump a lot of it on your fries either.
Parent
Youngsters (Score:5, Funny)
Back in my day, the President of the United States declared that arsenic counted as a vegetable in our school lunches, and although we didn't much like the taste, we all did our part to defeat the commies and make the world free. And this is the thanks the next generation has for us -- gettin' all uppity about using it in computers. Sheesh!
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Ever drive through Missouri? If so, ever smell almonds? Well, afaik there are no almond trees in Misouri. That's pesticide you smell - arsenic.
TFA and TFS are referring to incredibly tiny amounts of arsenic, not large quantities, and they would be actually be inside the chips. I can't see how they would pose a danger to anyone.
Um, your comment was pretty ignorant but it was on topic, have the mods been smoking arsenic?
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
and they would be actually be inside the chips. I can't see how they would pose a danger to anyone.
Puts away salsa
What?
Re:Sure (Score:4, Informative)
Parent
Re:Sure (Score:4, Informative)
Arsenic has a nuclear mass of about 74.92159 u with one u being about 1.660538782 * 10^(27) kg.
Google tells us that 74921590 u = 1.24410212 * 10^(-10) micrograms (0.000000000124410212 ug). Note that you already eat several ug of arsenic a day [informaworld.com], so eating your megabit quantum storage chip is unlikely to give you arsenic poisoning. That is not what you should worry about at that moment.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Sadly, these flat atoms will never get the attention that more endowed atoms get on a regular basis.
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It's hard to be a clown on this one, I'm afraid. Maybe jokes about non-flat atoms that just sit around all day collecting welfare checks shooting off neutrons, or how this flat atom doesn't have any boyfriends because she's so flat. Maybe go the route where "flat" rhymes with "fat" and talk about Fat Atombert. Hey hey hey!
Re: (Score:2)
Thank goodness they finally have flat atoms. All of those bumpy atoms were starting to annoy me.
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Yes, but does it run Linux?