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Category: computing – Page 872

Distributed Objective Consensus: Beyond POW & POS

At the heart of Bitcoin or any Blockchain ledger is a distributed consensus mechanism. It’s a lot like voting. A large and diverse deliberative community validates each, individual user transaction, ownership stake or vote.

But a distributed consensus mechanism is only effective and faithful if the community is impartial. To be impartial, voters must be fairly separated. That is, there must be no collusion enabled by concentration or hidden collaboration. They must be separated from the buyer and seller; they must be separated from the big stakeholders; and they must be separated from each other. Without believable and measurable separation, all sorts of problems ensue. One problem that has made news in the Bitcoin word is the geographical concentration of miners and mining pools.

A distributed or decentralized transaction validation is typically achieved based on Proof-of-Work (POW) or Proof-of-Stake (POS). [explain]. But in practice, these methodologies exhibit subtle problems…

The problem is that Proof-of-Work can waste an enormous amount of energy and both techniques result in a concentration of power (either by geography or by special interest) — rather than a fair, distributed consensus.

In a quasi-formal paper, C.V. Alkan describes a fresh approach to Blockchain consensus. that he calls Distributed Objective Consensus. As you try to absorb his mechanism, you encounter concepts of Sybil attacks, minting inequality, the “nothing-at-stake” problem, punishment schemes and heartbeat transactions. Could Alkan’s distributed consensus mechanism be too complex for the public to understand or use?…

While I have a concern that time stamps and parent-child schemes may degrade user anonymity, the complexity doesn’t concern me. Alkan’s paper is a technical proposal for magic under the covers. Properly implemented, a buyer and seller (and even a miner) needn’t fully understand the science. The user interface to their wallet or financial statement would certainly be shielded from the underlying mechanics.

Put another way: You would not expect a user to understand the mechanism any more than an airline passenger understands the combustion process inside a jet engine. They only want to know:

• Does it work? • Is it safe? • Is it cost effective? • Will I get there on time?

So will Alkan’s Decentralized Objective Consensus solve the resource and concentration problems that creep into POW and POS? Perhaps. At first glance, his technical presentation appears promising. I will return to explore the impact on privacy and anonymity, which is my personal hot button. It is a critical component for long term success of any coin transaction system built on distributed consensus. That is, forensic access and analysis of a wallet or transaction audit trail must be impossible without the consent and participation of at least one party to a transaction.

Philip Raymond co-chairs CRYPSA and The Bitcoin Event. He is a Lifeboat board member, editor
at AWildDuck and will deliver the keynote address at Digital Currency Summit in Johannesburg.

Intel’s Quantum Computing

More on Intel’s plans for a Quantum Neuromorphic chip to mimic the brain on QC. Should be interesting as they will be researching Quantum Biology/ Biosystem technology of the human brain to make this happen. And, will also be assessing cell electromagnetic spin, much of the other quantum mechanic properties of the brain. So, consider the race is on now for a Quantum Biosystem brain. And, the question now is which one will get there 1st and which type? DARPA’s Quantum Biosystem enhanced brain or one like Intel’s Quantum Neuromorphic chip mimicking the human brain?

Things are about to become very interesting for all.

A future beyond today’s PC technology is prepared by Intel’s research into quantum computing. (Photo : Strange Video Zone / YouTube)

As it prepares for the post-Moore’s Law era, the world’s largest chip company Intel, researches new paths toward designing computers of immense power by exploiting the quantum mechanics.

According to MIT Technology Review, chip maker Intel is involved in the race to build quantum computers that should offer immense processing power. Competitors Google, Microsoft and IBM are also developing quantum components different from the ones to be found in today’s computers. But what’s different in Intel’s approach is the fact that the chip maker company is trying to adapt the silicon transistor of existing computers for the task.

Continue reading “Intel’s Quantum Computing” | >

Intel researches tech to prepare for a future beyond today’s PCs

Glad Intel is moving this dial on their side as I have said for over a year they must do this to remain relevant. I would also encourage them to enter into a large 3D/4D printer partnership to develop a high speed printer that can print diamoide particles as they will need this bi-product to ensure stability in their chips and any other QC data storage and transfer processing. I do say they will need a group focused on Quantum Bio R&D as we begin to progress more of a integrated tech-bio system approach.

Intel realizes there will be a post-Moore’s Law era and is already investing in technologies to drive computing beyond today’s PCs and servers.

The chipmaker is “investing heavily” in quantum and neuromorphic computing, said Brian Krzanich, CEO of Intel, during a question-and-answer session at the company’s investor day on Thursday.

“We are investing in those edge type things that are way out there,” Krzanich said.

Crystals for Superconduction, Quantum Computing and High Efficiency Solar Cells

Nice forum on QC Crystal Superconduction in Mar.

From March 8–10, 2017, an International Conference on Crystal Growth is to be held in Freiburg under the auspices of the German Association of Crystal Growth DGKK and the Swiss Society for Crystallography SGK-SSCR. The conference, jointly organized by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, the Crystallography department of the Institute of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University Freiburg and the University of Geneva, is to be held in the seminar rooms of the Chemistry Faculty of the University of Freiburg. Furthermore, the Young DGKK will hold a seminar for young scientists at Fraunhofer ISE on March 7, 2017.

“Whether for mobile communication, computers or LEDs, crystalline materials are key components of our modern lifestyle,” says Dr. Stephan Riepe, group head in the Department of Silicon Materials at Fraunhofer ISE. “Crystal growth has a long tradition and today is still far from becoming obsolete. Materials with special crystalline structure are being developed for applications in high-temperature superconductors through to low-loss power transmission. Artificial diamonds are a favorite choice for building quantum computers. At the conference, the production of silicon, III-V semiconductors and most currently perovskite layers for cost-effective high efficiency tandem solar cells will also be discussed.”

In Freiburg, a close cooperation exists between the Fraunhofer Institutes and the University of Freiburg. For example, at Fraunhofer ISE a doctoral thesis of the University of Freiburg was carried out which investigated how impurities can be minimized during multicrystalline silicon production. In the production process, liquid silicon is melted in a quartz crucible and subsequently solidified. Similar to flour’s function when sprinkled in a baking form, silicon nitride powder acts as a separating agent between the crucible and the silicon. Here the aim is to reduce impurities on the scale of parts per billion, or ppb, to achieve the highest solar cell efficiencies. On a regular basis, student and doctoral degree theses are carried out to address such questions.

Another hurdle to quantum computers cleared: Sorting machine for atoms

Nice.

Physicists at the University of Bonn have cleared a further hurdle on the path to creating quantum computers: in a recent study, they present a method with which they can very quickly and precisely sort large numbers of atoms. The work has now been published in Physical Review Letters.

Imagine you are standing in a grocery store buying apple juice. Unfortunately, all of the crates are half empty because other customers have removed individual bottles at random. So you carefully fill your crate bottle by bottle. But wait: The neighboring crate is filled in exactly the opposite way! It has bottles where your crate has gaps. If you could lift these bottles in one hit and place them in your crate, it would be full straight away. You could save yourself a lot of work.

Unfortunately, such solutions don’t (yet) exist for half-empty drinks crates. However, physicists at the University of Bonn want to sort thousands of atoms however they like in the future in this way — and in a matter of seconds. Around the world, scientists are currently looking for methods that enable sorting processes in the microcosm. The proposal by Bonn-based researchers could push the development of future quantum computers a crucial step forward. This allows atoms to interact with each other in a targeted manner in order to be able to exploit quantum-mechanical effects for calculations. In addition, the particles have to be brought into spatial proximity with one another.

Dotz Nano reveals proof of concept for a new type of flash memory

New Graphene based flash memory card coming.

Dotz Nano (ASX: DTZ) has successfully completed a proof of concept research study into the use of Graphene Quantum Dots (GQDs) in flash memory devices with the Kyung Hee University in South Korea.

GQDs are being developed for use in various applications including medical imaging, sensing, consumer electronics, energy storage, solar cells and computer storage.

Dotz Nano is in advanced negotiations to sign a full licensing agreement with Kyung Hee University related to this technology.

Primitive Quantum Computing Helps Test Theoretical Physics

In Brief:

Physicists were able to simulate high-energy experimens thanks to this primitive quantum computer. Prediction of theoretical physics may soon be tested.

Our current computers are not capable of running simulations of high-energy physics experiments. However, quite recently, scientists were able to use a primitive quantum computer in the simulation of the spontaneous creation of particle-antiparticle pairs. This makes it easier for physicists to further investigate the fundamental particles. A research team published their findings in the journal, Nature.

Wave of the future: Terahertz chips a new way of seeing through matter

Electromagnetic pulses lasting one millionth of a millionth of a second may hold the key to advances in medical imaging, communications and drug development. But the pulses, called terahertz waves, have long required elaborate and expensive equipment to use.

Now, researchers at Princeton University have drastically shrunk much of that equipment: moving from a tabletop setup with lasers and mirrors to a pair of microchips small enough to fit on a fingertip.

In two articles recently published in the IEEE Journal of Solid State Circuits, the researchers describe one microchip that can generate terahertz waves, and a second chip that can capture and read intricate details of these waves.

Implanted Biosensors Track Vital Signs

With the work we are doing on cell circuitry technology and Quantum; these implants will become more and more seamless in all living things.

A biosensor developed in Clemson University, South Carolina, funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, will be able to transmit information regarding blood lactate and glucose levels of a wounded soldier or of other injured patients. The biochip will be implanted in the patient’s body for a short time and will wirelessly transmit the levels of lactate and glucose to the medical staff.

The biochip, sized 2mm x 4mm x 0.5mm, is a dual sensing element coated with hydrogels to prevent it from being rejected by human tissue. The sensor has the ability to transmit life saving readings to the medical personnel. The implantation of the chip will only be temporary, although long term biochip implants are also being tested and may be used as a precaution in some cases.

Blood glucose and lactate levels are very important for medical staff in the first stages of dealing with a trauma patient. These measurements can imply what the oxygen level in the patients’ blood is and can indicate the overall metabolic state of the patient. The blood lactate level is sometimes used to determine whether or not a trauma patient can survive surgery. Getting these measurements in real time can help the medics in a hospital or out in the field make decisions much faster and by doing so will help save lives.

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