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Category: computing – Page 255

A Moving Target for Quantum Advantage

Researchers have used quantum computers to solve difficult physics problems. But claims of a quantum “advantage” must wait as ever-improving algorithms boost the performance of classical computers.

Quantum computers have plenty of potential as tools for carrying out complex calculations. But exactly when their abilities will surpass those of their classical counterparts is an ongoing debate. Recently, a 127-qubit quantum computer was used to calculate the dynamics of an array of tiny magnets, or spins—a problem that would take an unfathomably long time to solve exactly with a classical computer [1]. The team behind the feat showed that their quantum computation was more accurate than nonexact classical simulations using state-of-the-art approximation methods. But these methods represented only a small handful of those available to classical-computing researchers. Now Joseph Tindall and his colleagues at the Flatiron Institute in New York show that a classical computer using an algorithm based on a so-called tensor network can produce highly accurate solutions to the spin problem with relative ease [2].

Nobel laureate to build rapid-fire laser-powered nuclear fusion reactor by 2030

Nakamura, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for his pioneering work on the development of blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs), believes that his company can harness their semiconductor expertise to create a secure pathway for achieving nuclear fusion and transforming it into a commercially viable venture.

The precise details of the approach remain undisclosed as Blue Laser Fusion currently has a pending patent.

However, Nakamura is confident in the feasibility of constructing rapid-fire lasers and envisions the establishment of a one-gigawatt generating reactor in either Japan or the US by the end of the decade. Prior to that milestone, the company intends to construct a small-scale experimental plant in Japan before the conclusion of the next year, as reported by Nikkei.

Flying microchips the size of sand are tracking air data. Watch them fly

This microchip is the size of a grain of sand, and its job is to track data.

Inspired by nature, the latest microchip can dissolve and fly.

About the size of a grain of sand, the chips might be the smallest artificial flying structures yet built — gadgets that could one-day monitor air pollution and the spread of airborne diseases.

Why it matters: Size matters and sometimes smaller is better. With the microfliers, their small size is advantageous as it allows them to float like pollen or seeds, collecting environmental data on their tiny microchips along the way. Wireless transmitters can send the data to scientists before the chips land.

Researchers grow a twisted multilayer crystal structure for next-gen materials

Researchers with the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University and the DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) have grown a twisted multilayer crystal structure for the first time and measured the structure’s key properties. The twisted structure could help researchers develop next-generation materials for solar cells, quantum computers, lasers and other devices.

“This structure is something that we have not seen before—it was a huge surprise to me,” said Yi Cui, a professor at Stanford and SLAC and co-author of a paper published in Science describing the work. “A new quantum electronic property could appear within this three-layer twisted structure in future experiments.”

Framework Laptop 16 review: the Franken-notebook

The Framework Laptop 16 is the most customizable laptop we’ve ever seen, with tons of input and port options, and the promise of upgradable graphics. It has a bright screen and solid battery life, but it’s expensive, and you could get something with more performance for the price.

Framework introduces replaceable graphics for the first time, along with customizable keyboards and other accessories.

Innovative silicon nanochip can reprogram biological tissue in living body

Year 2021 Biocomputing is the future for the biological singularity because we could control all inputs and outputs of our bodies even evolve them eventually.

A silicon device that can change skin tissue into blood vessels and nerve cells has advanced from prototype to standardized fabrication, meaning it can now be made in a consistent, reproducible way. As reported in Nature Protocols, this work, developed by researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine, takes the device one step closer to potential use as a treatment for people with a variety of health concerns.

The technology, called tissue nanotransfection, is a non-invasive nanochip device that can reprogram tissue function by applying a harmless electric spark to deliver specific genes in a fraction of a second. In laboratory studies, the device successfully converted into to repair a badly injured leg. The technology is currently being used to reprogram tissue for different kinds of therapies, such as repairing caused by stroke or preventing and reversing nerve damage caused by diabetes.

“This report on how to exactly produce these tissue nanotransfection chips will enable other researchers to participate in this new development in ,” said Chandan Sen, director of the Indiana Center for Regenerative Medicine and Engineering, associate vice president for research and Distinguished Professor at the IU School of Medicine.

Faster Than Ever: Scientists Push Compressed Sensing to Real-Time Edge Applications

A team of researchers headed by Professor Sun Zhong at Peking University recently unveiled an analog hardware approach for real-time compressed sensing recovery. Their findings have been documented in a paper recently published in Science Advances.

In this work, a design based on a resistive memory (also known as memristor) array for performing instantaneous matrix-matrix-vector multiplication (MMVM) is first introduced. Based on this module, then an analog matrix computing circuit that solves compressed sensing (CS) recovery in one step (within a few microseconds) is disclosed.

Kenya strikes large deposits of mineral used in phones, laptops

Kenya has announced that the precious coltan mineral, which is used in the manufacture of cell phones, laptops and other communication gadgets has been found in the country.

Mining and Blue Economy Cabinet Secretary (CS) Salim Mvurya said on Wednesday that adequate deposits of coltan have been found in six counties.

The rare metallic mineral, mostly found in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), is mainly used for the production of electronic goods of mass consumption, such as mobile phones, laptops and videogame consoles, and its discovery in Kenya is set to raise the country’s profile as a mineral exporter.

Study offers new insights into understanding and controlling tunneling dynamics in complex molecules

Tunneling is one of most fundamental processes in quantum mechanics, where the wave packet could traverse a classically insurmountable energy barrier with a certain probability.

On the , effects play an important role in , such as accelerating enzyme catalysis, prompting spontaneous mutations in DNA and triggering olfactory signaling cascades.

Photoelectron tunneling is a key process in light-induced , charge and energy transfer and radiation emission. The size of optoelectronic chips and other devices has been close to the sub-nanometer atomic scale, and the quantum tunneling effects between different channels would be significantly enhanced.