Lifeboat Foundation

When it comes to physics experiments, quantum simulations aren’t quite the real thing – but in some cases they’re much closer than you’d expect.

Superconducting nanotechnology is a rapidly developing field with a series of promising applications in the field of new quantum technologies such as advanced superconducting quantum processors based on qubits with Josephson tunnel junctions.

Recently, an international team of researchers – with participation of Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology (Leibniz IPHT) – has demonstrated and published yet another quantum mechanical effect in superconductors – the photon assisted coherent quantum phase slip effect in a very thin superconducting nanowire. The effect is revealed as the formation of current steps on the current-voltage characteristic subject to microwave radiation (Nature, “Quantized current steps due to the a.c. coherent quantum phase-slip effect”).

This effect has been theoretically predicted more than thirty years ago and hints of the current steps of this type have been previously observed in small size Josephson junctions. Switching from a Josephson junction to a superconducting nanowire made of thin films of high-quality niobium nitride allowed the researchers to observe sharp and distinct steps on the current voltage characteristic located at current values I n = 2efn, where 2e is the electric charge of a so-called Cooper pair of two electrons, f the frequency of microwave radiation, and n as an integer number, denoting the step order.

Nature uses 20 canonical amino acids as building blocks to make proteins, combining their sequences to create complex molecules that perform biological functions.

But what happens with the sequences not selected by nature? And what possibilities lie in constructing entirely new sequences to make novel (de novo) proteins bearing little resemblance to anything in nature?

Continue reading “Chemists create quantum dots at room temperature using lab-designed protein” »

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While theories of holographic universes have been around since the 1990s, the latest study, published in the journal Physical Review Letters, contains the first proof, the researchers say.

To find the ‘evidence’, the researchers developed models of the holographic Universe that can be tested by peering back in time as far as 13 billion years, at the furthest reaches of the observable Universe. These models depend on the theory of quantum gravity, a theory that challenges the accepted version of classical gravity. The holographic principle says gravity comes from thin, vibrating strings which are all holograms of a flat, 2D Universe.

Continue reading “Theory claims to offer the first ‘evidence’ our Universe is a hologram” »

A quantum computer has been connected to Europe’s fastest supercomputer. It may be a step towards a new type of computing that combines traditional and quantum computers to quickly solve complex problems.

The promise of quantum computers is that they will eventually complete calculations that are impossible for the most powerful conventional computers. Though many researchers are working on perfecting quantum computers, many are also suggesting that existing, imperfect quantum computers could be more useful if connected to traditional supercomputers.

Christopher Nolan revealed to Total Film magazine that he recreated the first nuclear weapon detonation without CGI effects as part of the production for his new movie “Oppenehimer.” The film stars longtime Nolan collaborator Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer, a leading figure of the Manhattan Project and the creation the atomic bomb during World War II. Nolan has always favored practical effects over VFX (he even blew up a real Boeing 747 for “Tenet”), so it’s no surprise he went the practical route when it came time to film a nuclear weapon explosion.

“I think recreating the Trinity test [the first nuclear weapon detonation, in New Mexico] without the use of computer graphics was a huge challenge to take on,” Nolan said. “Andrew Jackson — my visual effects supervisor, I got him on board early on — was looking at how we could do a lot of the visual elements of the film practically, from representing quantum dynamics and quantum physics to the Trinity test itself, to recreating, with my team, Los Alamos up on a mesa in New Mexico in extraordinary weather, a lot of which was needed for the film, in terms of the very harsh conditions out there — there were huge practical challenges.”

Such a device could help address climate change and food scarcity, or break the Internet. Will the U.S. or China get there first?

Interview with Hugo in Melbourne after the Singularity Summit Australia 2010, conducted by Adam A. Ford.

Terrans, Cyborgs and Cosmists — Varieties of human groups. Species dominance.

Continue reading “Hugo de Garis interview — part 3 — Terrans, Cosmists & Cyborgs 2010-10-09 007-1” »

A pair of microspheres can convert microwave signals over a wide frequency range into optical signals, which will be essential for future quantum technologies.

Future quantum communication systems will likely use microwaves to transfer information into and out of storage and processing devices but will use lasers to carry information from point to point within an extended network. Now researchers have demonstrated an improved method for converting microwaves to visible light signals by exploiting the way that electromagnetic waves can set up vibrations within microspheres [1]. Two microspheres in contact—one sensitive to microwaves and the other sensitive to optical signals—serve as the core of the converter. The work should give researchers a wider range of technological options as they develop advanced communications and computing networks.

Researchers are pursuing a variety of ways to store quantum information, or “qubits,” in microscopic, typically superconducting, structures. One common feature of such technologies is that reading or writing information relies on interactions with microwaves rather than on higher-frequency visible or infrared light from lasers. But lasers offer the best way to move information around, so extended networks of such devices will need ways to convert signals from one form to the other.