Lifeboat Foundation

Engineers at Caltech have shown that atoms in optical cavities—tiny boxes for light—could be foundational to the creation of a quantum internet. Their work was published on March 30 by the journal Nature.

Quantum networks would connect quantum computers through a system that also operates at a quantum, rather than classical, level. In theory, quantum computers will one day be able to perform certain functions faster than classical computers by taking advantage of the special properties of quantum mechanics, including superposition, which allows quantum bits to store information as a 1 and a 0 simultaneously.

As they can with classical computers, engineers would like to be able to connect multiple quantum computers to share data and work together—creating a “quantum internet.” This would open the door to several applications, including solving computations that are too large to be handled by a single quantum computer and establishing unbreakably secure communications using quantum cryptography.

UNSW material scientists have shed new light on a promising new way to store and process information in computers and electronic devices that could significantly cut down the energy required to maintain our digital lifestyles.

Skyrmions, which can be described as ‘whirl’ shaped magnetic textures at the nano-level, have in recent years been flagged as contenders for a more efficient way to store and process information. One of their advantages is that they possess a kind of built-in enhanced stability over time, making stored information non-volatile and ‘live’ longer. Up until now, information in computers is processed through dynamic memory, which is less stable and therefore requires more energy to maintain.

According to researchers from UNSW Science, who also collaborated with researchers from Brookhaven National Laboratory in the US and the University of Auckland, the potential of what they call “skyrmion lattice manipulation” to lower energy consumption in electronics is an attractive alternative.

The obvious drawback of solar panels is that they require sunlight to generate electricity. Some have observed that for a device on Earth facing space, which has a frigid temperature, the chilling outflow of energy from the device can be harvested using the same kind of optoelectronic physics we have used to harness solar energy. New work, in a recent issue of Applied Physics Letters, from AIP Publishing, looks to provide a potential path to generating electricity like solar cells but that can power electronics at night. For more information see the IDTechEx report on Energy Harvesting Microwatt to Megawatt 2019–2029.

An international team of scientists has demonstrated for the first time that it is possible to generate a measurable amount of electricity in a diode directly from the coldness of the universe. The infrared semiconductor device faces the sky and uses the temperature difference between Earth and space to produce the electricity.

“The vastness of the universe is a thermodynamic resource,” said Shanhui Fan, an author on the paper. “In terms of optoelectronic physics, there is really this very beautiful symmetry between harvesting incoming radiation and harvesting outgoing radiation.”

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Qualcomm is getting ready to usher in a new generation of super low-power Bluetooth earbud chips.

The QCC514X and the QCC304X will support Qualcomm’s TrueWireless Mirroring technology. This means that wireless connectivity is secured with a single earbud that is paired with another. When the user removes the primary earbud, the other mirroring bud takes over the connection without any interruption.

The units will also support active noise control, or noise cancellation, bringing the popular feature commonly found on high-end units to mid-priced and entry-level buds. Qualcomm says its hybrid ANC feature allows for ambient noise leak-through that allows substantial but not total external noise suppression. That makes it easier for users to speak with others while wearing the buds or to more easily hear car horns or alarms.

Computer simulations help cosmologists unlock the mystery of how the universe evolved.

Sandia National Laboratories distinguished technical staff member Juan Elizondo-Decanini developed a new configuration for neutron generators by turning from conventional cylindrical tubes to the flat geometry of computer chips. The Neutristor is an ultra-compact, disposable, neutron generator 1000 times smaller than the closest competitor. The most practical application, and the most likely to be near-term, would be a tiny medical neutron source implanted close to a tumor that would allow cancer patients to receive a low neutron dose over a long period at home instead of having to be treated at a hospital. Elizondo-Decanini says the technology is ready to be licensed for some commercial applications, but other more complex commercial applications could take five to ten years.

Circa 2006

By Maggie Mckee

Nearly all of the information that falls into a black hole escapes back out, a controversial new study argues. The work suggests that black holes could one day be used as incredibly accurate quantum computers – if enormous theoretical and practical hurdles can first be overcome.

Continue reading “Black holes: The ultimate quantum computers?” »

Scientists are attempting to entangle black holes into a working wormhole using quantum computers.