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Cat is out
In 1935, the physicist Erwin Schrödinger concocted a thought experiment to illustrate a pair of strange quantum physics phenomena: superposition and unpredictability.
The experiment is known as the Schrödinger cat and for more than 80 years it is the cornerstone of quantum physics. But in a recently published study, a team of Yale scientists essentially destroys the premises at the center of the experiment – a revolutionary work that could finally allow researchers to develop useful quantum computers.
Kitty Killer
Schrödinger's cat is perhaps the most famous cat ever to live. Or who has never died, according to your point of view.
In the thought experiment, the cat is sealed in a box with a tiny piece of radioactive substance that may or may not lose a single atom to disintegrate in the space of an hour – the possibility is just as likely. The box also contains a balloon designed to release a poison if the atom breaks down.
The link between this tortuous thought experiment and quantum physics lies in this uncertainty: there is no way to know if the cat is alive or dead at any point in time. It's theoretically both alive and dead – until someone opens the box and observes the cat directly.
In summary, quantum superposition: a quantum system can exist simultaneously in two states, thus making a random quantum leap to a state once observed.
Advanced warning
It is impossible to predict when a quantum system will "pass" from one state to another – or at least that is what experts thought until Monday when Yale researchers published a study in the newspaper. Nature detailing their discovery of an early warning system for quantum leaps.
Using a combination of three microwave generators, an aluminum cavity and a superconducting artificial atom, the team discovered that it could predict when the atom would make a quantum leap: it was enough to look for a sudden absence of a certain type of photons. emitting from the atom.
"The nice effect demonstrated by this experiment is the increase of the coherence during the jump, in spite of its observation ", declared the researcher Michel Devoret in a press release, with his colleague Zlatko Minev, adding:" You can take advantage of it for grab the jump, also reverse it. "
Computing power
This ability to reverse quantum jumps explains how this new research could help the development of quantum computers.
The basic units of quantum information in quantum computer systems are called qubits. They are analogous to the bits used in traditional computing, but instead of being a 1 or a 0, a qubit can be simultaneously in both states.
Qubits are changing state in quantum computer systems as a result of computational errors and, now that researchers have a way to predict these changes, they can more quickly correct these errors and manage them. quantum data, which makes it a little less difficult to create useful quantum computers difficult.
"The quantum leaps of an atom are somewhat analogous to the eruption of a volcano, "said Minev. "They are completely unpredictable in the long run. Nevertheless, with proper monitoring, we can definitely detect an imminent disaster warning and act before it happens. "
READ MORE: Physicists can predict Schrödinger's cat jumps (and finally save him) [Yale News]
More on quantum computing: The Quantum state control process could speed up computer and energy transfers
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