Toggle light / dark theme

Scientists at EPFL have developed a superconducting circuit optomechanical platform that demonstrates ultra-low quantum decoherence and high-fidelity quantum control. Their groundbreaking work with a “vacuum-gap drumhead capacitor” has led to the longest quantum state lifetime in a mechanical oscillator ever achieved, paving the way for new applications in quantum computing.

Performing computation using quantum-mechanical phenomena such as superposition and entanglement.

New Study Solves Mystery on Insulator-to-Metal Transition

A study explored insulator-to-metal transitions, uncovering discrepancies in the traditional Landau-Zener formula and offering new insights into resistive switching. By using computer simulations, the research highlights the quantum mechanics involved and suggests that electronic and thermal switching can arise simultaneously, with potential applications in microelectronics and neuromorphic computing.

Looking only at their subatomic particles, most materials can be placed into one of two categories.

Over the past decade, scientists have made tremendous progress in generating quantum phenomena in mechanical systems. What seemed impossible only fifteen years ago has now become a reality, as researchers successfully create quantum states in macroscopic mechanical objects.

By coupling these mechanical oscillators to light photons—known as “optomechanical systems”—scientists have been able to cool them down to their lowest energy level close to the , “squeeze them” to reduce their vibrations even further, and entangle them with each other. These advancements have opened up new opportunities in , compact storage in quantum computing, fundamental tests of quantum gravity, and even in the search for dark matter.

In order to efficiently operate optomechanical systems in the quantum regime, scientists face a dilemma. On one hand, the mechanical oscillators must be properly isolated from their environment to minimize ; on the other hand, they must be well-coupled to other such as electromagnetic resonators to control them.

Quantum computing could give us machines massively more powerful than today’s, but we still have a long way to go, say leaders in the field.

The tech story of the century so far has been the mainstream arrival of generative artificial intelligence, which drives the uncanny capabilities of systems such as ChatGPT, and is fast being absorbed into our everyday lives.

Whether to mimic human creativity, double as empathetic counsellor or eliminate clerical drudgery, generative AI has delivered an unprecedented surge in excitement for its potential benefits.

Of equal concern are possible negatives: catastrophic job losses, widespread disinformation, and even – at the wildly unsettling end of the… More.


Quantum computing will change the world as we know it, but more breakthroughs are needed before we see the hugely powerful processors become an everyday reality, say quantum physicists.

Sandia’s 20 year experience in building and testing ion traps has culminated in its latest offering: the Enchilada Trap.

Sandia National Laboratories revealed the Enchilada Trap, a groundbreaking ion trap central to some quantum computers, in a press release.

This innovative device promises to reshape the landscape of quantum computing, providing researchers with a potent tool to explore the experimental and transformative field of quantum computation.

The central problem quantum state engineering is trying to solve, says Ryan Glasser is “what do I need to do to get my quantum system to be in the state I desire?” Researchers hope ManQala, a version of the ancient game mancala, has answers. (Credit: Tobias Tullius/Unsplash)

The game mancala may have originated as far back as 6,000 BCE in Jordan and is played around the world to this day. It consists of stones that players move between a series of small pits on a wooden game board. The point of the game is to get all the stones into the last pit at the end of the board.

The crisis of understanding, according to Popper, arose in physics along with the Copenhagen interpretation, or, more precisely, from the point of view of Bohr and Heisenberg on the status of quantum mechanics.

In his opinion, quantum mechanics should be interpreted as the last revolution in physics, since the inherent boundaries of knowledge were reached in it.

Quantum computing, just like traditional computing, requires a method to store the information it uses and processes. In the computer you’re using right now, information—whether it be photos of your dog, a reminder about a friend’s birthday, or the words you’re typing into your browser’s address bar—must be stored somewhere. Quantum computing, a relatively new field, is still exploring where and how to store quantum information.

In a paper published recently in the journal Nature Physics

As the name implies, Nature Physics is a peer-reviewed, scientific journal covering physics and is published by Nature Research. It was first published in October 2005 and its monthly coverage includes articles, letters, reviews, research highlights, news and views, commentaries, book reviews, and correspondence.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has announced a new program it says will develop synthetic metamaterials that could lead to breakthroughs in quantum computing and information science.

Called the Synthetic Quantum Nanostructures program, or SynQuaNon, the new DARPA initiative “aims to address this challenge with a fundamental science effort that seeks to develop synthetic metamaterials to enable enhanced functionalities and novel capabilities,” read a statement issued by the agency this week.

The program aims to produce a range of new quantum materials that will have a variety of uses in quantum computing and other information science applications.