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Category: quantum physics

IBM Research is making quantum computing available to the public for the first time, providing access to a quantum computing platform from any desktop or mobile device via the cloud. Users of the platform called the IBM Quantum Experience can create algorithms and run experiments on an IBM quantum processor, learn about quantum computing through tutorials and simulations, and get inspired by the possibilities of a quantum computer.

To learn more about IBM’s quantum computing research and get access to the IBM Quantum Experience please visit: http://ibm.com/quantumcomputing

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Some researchers are predicting that the market for “universal” quantum computers that do everything a supercomputer can do plus everything a supercomputer can not do — in a chip that fits in the palm of your hand — are on the verge of emerging. The rise of quantum computing may be as important a shift as John von Neumann’s stored program-and-data concept.

Here are some of the scientists and breakthroughs that will enable this shift.

Robert Schoelkopf (Yale, Quantum Circuits inc) claims a number of “world’s firsts,” the latest of which is the longest “coherence time” for a quantum superposition.

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QC in the mainstream is definitely viable less than 7 yrs. and possible within 5 yrs. However, I have a friend who even believes we’re looking at 3 years.

Internet security, once considered to be strictly in the domain of the wonkiest tech experts, has become central to public discourse over the past year. Besides the attacks on the DNC, even tech savvy business like Snapchat, Oracle and Verizon Enterprise Solutions have had significant breaches in the last year.

For the most part, these attacks were preventable. Often, hackers use a technique called social engineering, to trick people into allowing them into a system. Other times, they exploit a vulnerability in software to give them access to confidential data. In most cases, more stringent procedures can prevent attacks.

However, there is a more serious crisis coming. In five to ten years, we are likely to see quantum computers that are so powerful that they are able to break even the strongest encryption in use today. That means that soon, even our most vital and well protected data will be at risk. So if you want to protect your businesses, you should start preparing now.

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Has anyone besides NSA, NIST, DARPA, IARPA, etc. realize and thought about what type of cyber warfare will exist in a QC world? The skillsets alone will be so far advance than the techies that we have seen in most companies today as well as in most government agencies. Granted we’re simplifying things with the platform; however, skillsets will still need to be more advance than what we have seen with the standard techie.

Members of the cryptography community have expressed interest in the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) recent call for an algorithm less susceptible to hacks from a computer that does not exist yet.

NIST announced a call for proposals for post-quantum cryptography standardization on Dec. 20. One or more of the proposed algorithms will ultimately replace some of NIST’s cryptographic standards that are most vulnerable to quantum computers. According to Dustin Moody, a mathematician at NIST, 40 people have joined the agency’s online cryptography forum since the call was announced two weeks ago. The forum had about 200 members before the call went out. Moody said that many people were anticipating the announcement, as cryptography enthusiasts tend to run in the same circles.

“Most people who are interested in the field already knew about it,” Moody said. “The call wasn’t a surprise.”

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Nice advancement this week in QC.

Researchers may have finally created the first fully reprogrammable quantum computer in the world. This changes the entire spectrum of the technology, as quantum computers so far could only run one type of equation.

This marks the beginning of reprogrammable quantum computers. Several teams and companies like IBM are still in the race towards quantum computing, which so far can only run one type of equation. This seems ironic as they can theoretically run more operations than there are atoms in the universe. But this stops now.

According to Futurism, a team from the University of Maryland may have developed the first fully programmable quantum computer.

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We examine the effect of the stress tensor of a quantum matter field, such as the electromagnetic field, on the spectrum of primordial gravity waves expected in inflationary cosmology. We find that the net effect is a small reduction in the power spectrum, especially at higher frequencies, but which has a different form from that described by the usual spectral index. Thus this effect has a characteristic signature, and is in principle observable. The net effect is a sum of two contributions, one of which is due to quantum fluctuations of the matter field stress tensor. The other is a quantum correction to the graviton field due to coupling to the expectation value of this stress tensor. Both contributions are sensitive to initial conditions in the very early universe, so this effect has the potential to act as a probe of these initial conditions.

Read this paper on arXiv…

J. Hsiang, L. Ford, K. Ng, et. al. Thu, 5 Jan 17 31/58.

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Federal agencies of the US government are expanding their calls for quantum computing resistant encryption methods. In effect, the National Institute of Standards (NIST) recently announced a request for public-key post-quantum algorithms. This action follows warnings from the National Security Agency (NSA) about the risks of potential quantum-based cyberattacks and the NSA’s appeal for developing post-quantum algorithms.

Also read: New Developments in Quantum Computing Impact Bitcoin

Moreover, in the near future, it might possible for anyone to manipulate the awesome power of quantum computing. The astronomical price of a quantum computer would not be a limitation because, for example, IBM is offering to the general public quantum computing via the cloud.

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It already is

http://indianexpress.com/article/technology/science/diamonds

Might-power-the-next-generation-of-quantum-computing-4455118/

Scientists have developed a way to mass-produce tiny diamond crystals shaped like needles and threads, which may power next generation of quantum computing. Physicists from the Lomonosov Moscow State University in Russia have described structural peculiarities of micrometre-sized diamond crystals in needle and thread-like shapes, and their interrelation with luminescence features and field electron emission efficiency.

Technological applications of diamonds significantly outweigh their popularity as jewelry, and are increasingly widespread in industry. This is a motivation for researchers busy with elaboration of new diamond synthesis techniques.

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Excellent breakthrough for technology’s future.

Example of diamond crystallites of different shapes, obtained with the help of the technology, worked out in the Lomonosov Moscow State University. There are electron microscopy images of diamond films’ fragments after their oxidation in the air. The material left after the oxidation is represented by needle-like diamond monocrystals of pyramid shape. Credit: Alexander Obraztsov.

Physicists from the Lomonosov Moscow State University have obtained micrometer-sized diamond crystals in the form of a regular pyramid. In cooperation with co-workers from other Russian and foreign research centers, they have also studied the luminescence and electron emission properties of these diamond crystals. The research results have been published in a series of articles in journals including Scientific Reports.

The researchers have described structural peculiarities of micrometer-sized diamond crystals in needle- and thread-like shapes, and their interrelation with luminescence features and field electron emission efficiency. The luminescence properties of such thread-like diamond crystals could be useful in different types of sensors, quantum optical devices, and also for quantum computing.

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