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Category: quantum physics

New evidence for a particle system that ‘remembers’ its previous quantum states

In the future, quantum computers are anticipated to solve problems once thought unsolvable, from predicting the course of chemical reactions to producing highly reliable weather forecasts. For now, however, they remain extremely sensitive to environmental disturbances and prone to information loss.

A new study from the lab of Dr. Yuval Ronen at the Weizmann Institute of Science, published in Nature, presents fresh evidence for the existence of non-Abelian anyons—exotic particles considered prime candidates for building a fault-tolerant quantum computer. This evidence was produced within bilayer graphene, an ultrathin carbon crystal with unusual electronic behavior.

In quantum mechanics, particles also behave like waves, and their properties are described by a wave function, which can represent the state of a single particle or a system of particles. Physicists classify particles according to how the wave function of two identical particles changes when they exchange places. Until the 1980s, only two types of particles were known: bosons (such as photons), whose wave function remains unchanged when they exchange places, and fermions (such as electrons), whose wave function becomes inverted.

Scientists use string theory to crack the code of natural networks

For more than a century, scientists have wondered why physical structures like blood vessels, neurons, tree branches, and other biological networks look the way they do. The prevailing theory held that nature simply builds these systems as efficiently as possible, minimizing the amount of material needed. But in the past, when researchers tested these networks against traditional mathematical optimization theories, the predictions consistently fell short.

The problem, it turns out, was that scientists were thinking in one dimension when they should have been thinking in three. “We were treating these structures like wire diagrams,” Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) physicist Xiangyi Meng, Ph.D., explains. “But they’re not thin wires, they’re three-dimensional physical objects with surfaces that must connect smoothly.”

This month, Meng and colleagues published a paper in the journal Nature showing that physical networks in living systems follow rules borrowed from an unlikely source: string theory, the exotic branch of physics that attempts to explain the fundamental structure of the universe.

3D-Printed “Light Cages” Could Solve One of Quantum Networking’s Biggest Problems

A new chip-based quantum memory uses 3D-printed “light cages” to store light in atomic vapor with high precision. Quantum information storage plays a central role in the development of the quantum internet and future quantum computers. Today’s quantum communication systems are limited by signal l

The Syntellect Hypothesis: Five Paradigms of the Mind’s Evolution: Tuynman PhD, Antonin, Vikoulov, Alex M: 9781733426145: Amazon.com: Books

Celebrating a 7-year anniversary of the first edition of my book The Syntellect Hypothesis (2019)! I can’t help but feel like I’m watching a long-launched probe finally begin to transmit back meaningful data. What started as a speculative framework—half philosophy, half systems theory—has aged into something uncannily timely, as if reality itself had been quietly reading the manuscript and taking notes. In those seven years, AI has gone from clever tool to cognitive co-actor, collective intelligence has accelerated from metaphor to measurable force, and the idea of a convergent, self-reflective Syntellect no longer feels like science fiction so much as a working hypothesis under active experimental validation.

Looking back, the book captured a moment just before the curve went vertical. Looking forward, it reads less like a prediction and more like an early cartography of a terrain we’re now actively inhabiting. The signal is stronger, the noise louder, and the questions sharper—but the core intuition remains intact: intelligence doesn’t merely grow, it integrates. And once it does, history stops being a line and starts behaving more like a phase transition.

Here’s what Google summarizes about the book: The Syntellect Hypothesis: Five Paradigms of the Mind’s Evolution by Alex M. Vikoulov is a book that explores the idea of a future phase transition where human consciousness merges with technology to form a global supermind, or “Syntellect”. It covers topics like digital physics, the technological singularity, consciousness, and the evolution of humanity, proposing that we are on the verge of becoming a single, self-aware superorganism. The book is structured around five paradigms: Noogenesis, Technoculture, the Cybernetic Singularity, Theogenesis, and Universal Mind.

Key Concepts.

Syntellect: A superorganism-level consciousness that emerges when the intellectual synergy of a complex system (like humanity and its technology) reaches a critical threshold. Phase Transition: The book posits that humanity is undergoing a metamorphosis from individual intellect to a collective, higher-order consciousness.

Five Paradigms: The book is divided into five parts that map out this evolutionary journey: Noogenesis: The emergence of mind through computational biology. Technoculture: The rise of human civilization and technology. The Cybernetic Singularity: The point of Syntellect emergence. Theogenesis: Transdimensional propagation and expansion. Universal Mind: The ultimate cosmic level of awareness.

Themes and Scope.

Continue reading “The Syntellect Hypothesis: Five Paradigms of the Mind’s Evolution: Tuynman PhD, Antonin, Vikoulov, Alex M: 9781733426145: Amazon.com: Books” | >

RIKEN-led Project Seeks to Combine The Powers of Quantum Computers And Supercomputers

While supercomputers excel at general-purpose tasks and large-scale simulations, quantum computers specialize in problems involving exponential combinations (e.g., materials science, drug discovery, AI optimization). However, quantum systems currently require conventional computers to operate—a dependency that will intensify as they scale from today’s 100+ qubits to thousands or millions. The project envisions supercomputers acting as the “pianists” that play the quantum “piano.”

Twelve user groups are currently testing both systems. The project’s primary objective is to provide concrete answers to “What can quantum computers do *now*?” rather than speculating about future capabilities, while demonstrating practical advantages of tightly integrated hybrid computing for real-world scientific and industrial applications.

A RIKEN-led project is developing system software to tightly integrate quantum computers with supercomputers.

Quantum mechanics works, but it doesn’t describe reality

Physicists like Sean Carroll propose not only that quantum mechanics is not only a valuable way of interpreting the world, but actually describes reality, and that the wave function – the centre equation of quantum mechanics – describes a real object.

But, in this article, philosophers Raoni Arroyo and Jonas R. Becker Arenhart argue that the case for wave function realism is deeply confused. While it is a useful component within quantum theory, this alone doesn’t justify treating it as literally real.

Tap the link to read more.

Physicists like Sean Carroll argue not only that quantum mechanics is not only a valuable way of interpreting the world, but actually describes reality, and that the central equation of quantum mechanics – the wave function – describes a real object in the world. But philosophers Raoni Arroyo and Jonas R. Becker Arenhart warn that the arguments for wave-function realism are deeply confused. At best, they show only that the wave function is a useful element inside the theoretical framework of quantum mechanics. But this goes no way whatsoever to showing that this framework should be interpreted as true or that its elements are real. The wavefunction realists are confusing two different levels of debate and lack any justification for their realism. The real question is: does a theory need to be true to be useful?

1. Wavefunction realism

Quantum mechanics is probably our most successful scientific theory. So, if one wants to know what the world is made of, or how the world looks at the fundamental level, one is well-advised to search for the answers in this theory. What does it say about these problems? Well, that is a difficult question, with no single answer. Many interpretative options arise, and one quickly ends up in a dispute about the pros and cons of the different views. Wavefunction realists attempt to overcome those difficulties by looking directly at the formalism of the theory: the theory is a description of the behavior of a mathematical entity, the wavefunction, so why not think that quantum mechanics is, fundamentally, about wavefunctions? The view that emerges is, as Alyssa Ney puts it, that.

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The AI & Quantum Revolution Reshaping Innovation

The AI & quantum revolution: redefining research & development, manufacturing & technological exploration

By Chuck Brooks

By Chuck Brooks, president of Brooks Consulting International

We are at a crucial juncture in the annals of technical history. Throughout decades of writing, lecturing, teaching and consulting on emerging technologies, I have observed cycles of invention transform companies, governments and society. The current frontier—a synthesis of artificial intelligence and quantum technologies—is propelling that shift more rapidly and deeply than ever before. These technologies are transforming research methodologies and changing the architecture of production and discovery, presenting remarkable potential alongside significant constraints.

Research & development reconceived: accelerated, intelligent & solution-oriented.

Direct 3D printing of nanolasers can boost optical computing and quantum security

In future high-tech industries, such as high-speed optical computing for massive AI, quantum cryptographic communication, and ultra-high-resolution augmented reality (AR) displays, nanolasers—which process information using light—are gaining significant attention as core components for next-generation semiconductors.

A research team has proposed a new manufacturing technology capable of high-density placement of nanolasers on semiconductor chips, which process information in spaces thinner than a human hair.

A joint research team led by Professor Ji Tae Kim from the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Professor Junsuk Rho from POSTECH, has developed an ultra-fine 3D printing technology capable of creating “vertical nanolasers,” a key component for ultra-high-density optical integrated circuits.

Advanced quantum detectors are reinventing the search for dark matter

When it comes to understanding the universe, what we know is only a sliver of the whole picture.

Dark matter and dark energy make up about 95% of the universe, leaving only 5% “ordinary matter,” or what we can see. Dr. Rupak Mahapatra, an experimental particle physicist at Texas A&M University, designs highly advanced semiconductor detectors with cryogenic quantum sensors, powering experiments worldwide and pushing the boundaries to explore this most profound mystery.

Mahapatra likens our understanding of the universe—or lack thereof—to an old parable: “It’s like trying to describe an elephant by only touching its tail. We sense something massive and complex, but we’re only grasping a tiny part of it.”

Solving quantum computing’s longstanding ‘no cloning’ problem with an encryption workaround

A team of researchers at the University of Waterloo have made a breakthrough in quantum computing that elegantly bypasses the fundamental “no cloning” problem. The research, “Encrypted Qubits can be Cloned,” appears in Physical Review Letters.

Quantum computing is an exciting technological frontier, where information is stored and processed in tiny units—called qubits. Qubits can be stored, for example, in individual electrons, photons (particles of light), atoms, ions or tiny currents.

Universities, industry, and governments around the world are spending billions of dollars to perfect the technology for controlling these qubits so that they can be combined into large, reliable quantum computers. This technology will have powerful applications, including in cybersecurity, materials science, medical research and optimization.

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