[quote][i]An 'optical computer' which uses light particles rather than traditional circuitry has performed the first ever calculation, as scientists hope it could pave the way for a computer smaller and faster than anything seen before. [/i]
Scientists have hailed the step, despite the calculation taking longer than a schoolchild.
The optical quantum chip uses single particles of "whizzing" light which could eventually pave the wave for a "super-powerful quantum computer".
The photonic chip, roughly the size of a penny, managed to find the prime factors of 15, and give the answer - three and five (3 X 5).
The team at Bristol University argued that while finding prime factors may seem like a mathematical abstraction, the task lies at the heart of modern encryption schemes, including those used for secur internet communication.
Cherry Lewis, the project spokeswoman, said: "We are almost getting to the point now where conventional computers cannot go any smaller so we need to go down a completely new route. We are talking nano-scale. Particles of light."
Quantum technology aims to exploit the unique properties of quantum mechanics - the physics theory that explains how the world works at microscopic levels.
Quantum particles, such as photons, can exist in a 'superposition' of two states at the same time - compared to the transistors in a PC. Photons are also relatively noise-free and allow information to be transmitted at the speed of light.
The technology could eventually be applied to making internet connections secure, and to developing new materials and medicines.
The results are reported by the Bristol team of physicists and engineers in today's issue of Science.
PhD student Alberto Politi, who performed the experiment with colleague Jonathan Matthews, said: "This task could be done much faster by any school kid, but this is a really important proof-of-principle demonstration."
The team from the university's Centre for Nanoscience and Quantum Information have spent several years developing devices using photons on a silicon chip.
Professor Jeremy O'Brien, Director of the Centre for Quantum Photonics who led the research, said: "This approach results in miniature, high-performance and scalable devices. The realisation of a quantum algorithm on a chip is an extremely important step towards an all-optical quantum computer." [/quote]
[url]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/6128693/Optical-computer-performs-first-ever-calculation.html[/url]
That's cool.
Gee I didn't know what the prime factors of 15 were
I wonder if in a few years this tech will run crysis
i bet it cant show furry porn :frown:
[QUOTE=AwesomeDino;17120181]i bet it cant show furry porn :frown:[/QUOTE]
And that's why technology is awesome.
:iia:
is it 4d porn time
I don't think computers really need to be smaller. I was looking for a laptop the other day and some are so small they're actually difficult to use now.
Well, it's a start anyway. Hopefully it'll get more higher speed and more data over the next coupla years/decades.
[QUOTE=Hallucinate;17120316]I don't think computers really need to be smaller. I was looking for a laptop the other day and some are so small they're actually difficult to use now.[/QUOTE]
cellphones
think about it
Well if we can have a small box with all small parts, I am fine with it. Just put your pc box in the drawer, and you're good to go
[QUOTE=Hallucinate;17120316]I don't think computers really need to be smaller. I was looking for a laptop the other day and some are so small they're actually difficult to use now.[/QUOTE]
Well smaller tech means you can fit more in, you'd be able to get less heat in laptops because of more room, or perhaps even more features like decent GPUs that are easy to change like desktops.
Shrink tower size, increase monitor size, and get rid of all the wires and I'll be happy.
The future of technology!
:science:
[QUOTE=Hallucinate;17120316]I don't think computers really need to be smaller. I was looking for a laptop the other day and some are so small they're actually difficult to use now.[/QUOTE]
It's not about that though, with this technology we may be able to have laptops that are the same size as they are today, but with 10 graphics processors instead of 1.
[QUOTE=lettuce_head;17121573]It's not about that though, with this technology we may be able to have laptops that are the same size as they are today, but with 10 graphics processors instead of 1.[/QUOTE]
That would be fine, but..
[QUOTE=Max of S2D;17120496]cellphones
think about it[/QUOTE]
Have you ever used a phone to access the internet? It's the most pointless and uninspired thing on the planet.
Or maybe I just have a shit phone..
[quote]
Scientists have hailed the step, despite the calculation taking longer than a schoolchild.[/quote]
You know I remembered when I was a kid people said computers may be smarter than us but not faster than us. I can see this is true now. But now that I think about it...I think it was the other way around.
[QUOTE=MiniManz;17122560]You know I remembered when I was a kid people said computers may be smarter than us but not faster than us. I can see this is true now. But now that I think about it...I think it was the other way around.[/QUOTE]
Soon the machines will be both faster and smarter than us.
And this is just the first step, the full power of optical computing is yet to be unleashed...
I think we'll see the full power sometime next week at the rate technology advances.
[QUOTE=MiniManz;17122643]I think we'll see the full power sometime next week at the rate technology advances.[/QUOTE]
And then there's the upcoming technological singularity...
I think that'll be around sometime next month.
I will use this new technology to play half life episode 3 in three simultaneous windows! :science:
[QUOTE=Mr. Mcguffin;17122734]I will use this new technology to play half life episode 3 in three simultaneous windows! :science:[/QUOTE]And I'll use it to play Crysis in ONE window! :science:
[QUOTE=MiniManz;17122762]And I'll use it to play Crysis in ONE window! :science:[/QUOTE]
Some things are two far-fetched to even joke about :geno:
Although this is great, faster and smaller computers, it kinda makes me wonder if we really need to go smaller. We have laptops that can almost fit into a cargo pocket, but there so small that there not very usable. Yea, it'd be great if we had a full tower that you can carry wherever you go, but until we get at least a 15" monitor that we can fold up and carry the same way, why would we need it?
It's still awesome though.
[QUOTE=Reborn9;17122672]And then there's the upcoming technological singularity...[/QUOTE]
Doctor Manhattan! We could really do with a hand with this quantum computing stuff.
[editline]07:56PM[/editline]
[QUOTE=Caboose17;17123360]Although this is great, faster and smaller computers, it kinda makes me wonder if we really need to go smaller. We have laptops that can almost fit into a cargo pocket, but there so small that there not very usable. Yea, it'd be great if we had a full tower that you can carry wherever you go, but until we get at least a 15" monitor that we can fold up and carry the same way, why would we need it?
It's still awesome though.[/QUOTE]
Even if home computers don't need to get smaller, it'll be good for other applications where you need very small but powerful computers, not to mention the general greater power efficiency.
[QUOTE=DPennington;17120815]Shrink tower size, increase monitor size, and get rid of all the wires and I'll be happy.[/QUOTE]
So basically you want a Mac that you can play games on?
[QUOTE=Hallucinate;17120316]I don't think computers really need to be smaller. I was looking for a laptop the other day and some are so small they're actually difficult to use now.[/QUOTE]
Yeah, but if they figure out a way to make them smaller, they can stuff more circuitry and shit inside your average sized laptop and make it even better.
This is the quantum computer, how fast it has come...
[QUOTE=Hallucinate;17122307]Have you ever used a phone to access the internet? It's the most pointless and uninspired thing on the planet.
Or maybe I just have a shit phone..[/QUOTE]
Okay, imagine this: we're in the future, and you want to use your laptop right now. But who carries their laptop around all over the place? Well now you can with this new computer-cellphone technology. So you take out your phone with a 250GB hard drive and a dual core 3.5 gHZ processing unit and you plug it into one of the monitor kiosks at a mcdonalds (or a burger king or an airport or whatever). Your windows pops up and all of your files and games are displayed on the monitor. Presto, you can now access your computer anywhere.
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