Friday, March 29

Rare stone from Namibia could be key to quantum computing | Digital Trends Spanish


According to new research, a rare and ancient stone mined in Namibia could hold the key to the development of new quantum computers. The study was led by the University of St Andrews and its results appear in Nature Materials.

The work used a cuprous oxide (Cu20) gemstone, naturally mined from Namibia, to produce Rydberg polaritons, which are the largest hybrid particles of light and matter ever created.

According to the researchers, in these particles, light and matter behave like two sides of a coin, with the matter side causing the polaritons to interact with each other. This interaction is key because it allows the creation of quantum simulators, a special type of quantum computer where information is stored in quantum bits.

Unlike the common bits of conventional computers, where they can only be 0 or 1, these quantum bits can take any value between 0 and 1, which allows them to store much more information and carry out several processes simultaneously.

This technology could help quantum simulators solve great mysteries in physics, chemistry and biology, including how to make high-temperature superconductors for high-speed trains or how cheaper fertilizers could be developed to help end the Hunger in the world.

“Making a quantum simulator with light is the holy grail of science. We have taken a great leap towards this by creating Rydberg polaritons, the key ingredient of it”, said Hamid Ohadi, one of the main authors of this research.

Now, the team in charge of the research is perfecting this method to be able to manufacture quantum circuits, considered the “next ingredient of quantum simulators”.

Publisher Recommendations










es.digitaltrends.com