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Today in science and space

HangLow said:
150,000 Qubits Printed on a Chip

New silicon spin qubits also emit telecom-band light​

CHARLES Q. CHOI 14 JUL 2022 4 MIN READ
spectrum.ieee.org

150,000 Qubits Printed On a Chip

Quantum computers can theoretically solve problems no classical computer ever could, but only if they possess many components known as qubits. Now scientists have fabricated more than 150,000 silicon-based qubits on a chip that they may be able to link together with light.
spectrum.ieee.org spectrum.ieee.org
The data revealed the first optical observation of spins in silicon. Two-laser scans of a single spin reveal signature spin-split central peaks; here the experimental data is visualized as an extruded mosaic. SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

Quantum computers can theoretically solve problems no classical computer ever could—even given billions of years—but only if they possess many components known as qubits. Now scientists have fabricated more than 150,000 silicon-based qubits on a chip that they may be able to link together with light, to help form powerful quantum computers connected by a quantum Internet.

Classical computers switch transistors either on or off to represent data as ones or zeroes. In contrast, quantum computers use quantum bits, also known as qubits. Because of the surreal nature of quantum physics, qubits can exist in a state called superposition, in which they are essentially both 1 and 0 at the same time. This phenomenon lets each qubit perform two calculations at once. The more qubits are quantum mechanically linked, or entangled (see our explainer), within a quantum computer, the greater its computational power can grow, in an exponential fashion.

Currently quantum computers are noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) platforms, meaning their qubits number up to a few hundred at most. To prove useful for practical applications, future quantum computers will likely need thousands of qubits to help compensate for errors.

There are many different types of qubits under development, such as superconducting circuits, electromagnetically trapped ions, and even frozen neon. Recently scientists have discovered that so-called spin qubits manufactured in silicon may prove especially promising for quantum computing.

“Silicon spins are some of nature’s very best natural qubits,” says study cosenior author Stephanie Simmons, a quantum engineer at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C., Canada.
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rhinefire said:
That's assuming they will get there and return.
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Yes. It took many many tries for humanity to land soft on Mars. Landing and taking off again will likely be a similar challenge.

NASA/ESA are working on a quality and reliability model: samples would be carefully chosen by helicopters on one mission, then boosted to Mars orbit by another mission, then returned to Earth by a third mission. This is expensive and slow to develop.

China are working on a lower-quality model: the lander could only collect where it landed, and it would return to Mars orbit to be collected by a second mission. The difficulty of the first step (fly to mars, land, collect samples, get back to orbit) balances having one less step, and overall it will be quicker to develop. NASA/ESA might still take the prize, but if both of China's missions work they definitely come in first.

Russia's idea is for a one-mission sample return. They propose to use a major orbiter and a descent/ascent sample collector (like Apollo, for dirt). But it relies on the heavy-lift Angara which they haven't even flown yet, and given the trouble they've got themselves in I can't see it ever being funded.

It's all a bit amusing really. Fifty years after Apollo we still haven't done a Mars return mission, and we're squabbling over who can return some dirt.
 
Spirit of The Millennium said:
Yes. It took many many tries for humanity to land soft on Mars. Landing and taking off again will likely be a similar challenge.

NASA/ESA are working on a quality and reliability model: samples would be carefully chosen by helicopters on one mission, then boosted to Mars orbit by another mission, then returned to Earth by a third mission. This is expensive and slow to develop.

China are working on a lower-quality model: the lander could only collect where it landed, and it would return to Mars orbit to be collected by a second mission. The difficulty of the first step (fly to mars, land, collect samples, get back to orbit) balances having one less step, and overall it will be quicker to develop. NASA/ESA might still take the prize, but if both of China's missions work they definitely come in first.

Russia's idea is for a one-mission sample return. They propose to use a major orbiter and a descent/ascent sample collector (like Apollo, for dirt). But it relies on the heavy-lift Angara which they haven't even flown yet, and given the trouble they've got themselves in I can't see it ever being funded.

It's all a bit amusing really. Fifty years after Apollo we still haven't done a Mars return mission, and we're squabbling over who can return some dirt.
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Mars' moons are among the smallest in the solar system.
Phobos is a bit larger than Deimos and orbits only 3,700 miles above the Martian surface. No known moon orbits closer to its planet. It whips around Mars three times a day, while the more distant Deimos takes 30 hours for each orbit. Phobos is gradually spiraling inward, drawing about six feet closer to the planet each century. Within 50 million years, it will either crash into Mars or break up and form a ring around the planet.

To someone standing on the Mars-facing side of Phobos, Mars would take up a large part of the sky. And people may one day do just that. Scientists have discussed the possibility of using one of the Martian moons as a base from which astronauts could observe the Red Planet and launch robots to its surface, while shielded by miles of rock from cosmic rays and solar radiation for nearly two-thirds of every orbit.

Like Earth's Moon, Phobos and Deimos always present the same face to their planet. Both are lumpy, heavily cratered, and covered in dust and loose rocks. They are among the darker objects in the solar system. The moons appear to be made of carbon-rich rock mixed with ice and may be captured asteroids.
 
HangLow said:
Mars' moons are among the smallest in the solar system.
Phobos is a bit larger than Deimos and orbits only 3,700 miles above the Martian surface. No known moon orbits closer to its planet. It whips around Mars three times a day, while the more distant Deimos takes 30 hours for each orbit. Phobos is gradually spiraling inward, drawing about six feet closer to the planet each century. Within 50 million years, it will either crash into Mars or break up and form a ring around the planet.

To someone standing on the Mars-facing side of Phobos, Mars would take up a large part of the sky. And people may one day do just that. Scientists have discussed the possibility of using one of the Martian moons as a base from which astronauts could observe the Red Planet and launch robots to its surface, while shielded by miles of rock from cosmic rays and solar radiation for nearly two-thirds of every orbit.

Like Earth's Moon, Phobos and Deimos always present the same face to their planet. Both are lumpy, heavily cratered, and covered in dust and loose rocks. They are among the darker objects in the solar system. The moons appear to be made of carbon-rich rock mixed with ice and may be captured asteroids.
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Cosmic rays come from every direction, not just the sun's direction, but otherwise OK. It should be possible to burrow into one of the moons and get protection all the time. Also ice makes good rocket fuel!
 
Roadvirus said:
"Yo! Zookeeper! Where's my beer?"
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Interestingly, the same call has been found in other US zoos too. As many as 33 gorillas housed at 11 different zoos across the US and Canada, are reported to make a similar call, although only six gorillas in four different facilities have been confirmed using the sound so far.

Salmi and team aren't sure if different groups have worked out independently that this sound is effective, or if it has spread through the clever primates (who are more than capable of learning from each other) passing on their knowledge to each other.

Oh no, I dropped my phone in the gorilla cage! And the gorilla has it. And ... aw, how cute ... the gorilla is pretending to make a call.

If it turns out gorillas are smart enough to order a pizza, we'll have to let them out of the cages. They could get jobs as bouncers.
 
Spirit of The Millennium said:
If Betelgeuse does finally die in a stellar explosion, the light will be visible in the daytime from Earth, but the star is too far away to have any other impacts on our planet.

I don't want to wait 100,000 years. I want it to blow up now :cool:
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I knew you would go for Betelgeuse... but I had it second or third...
I thought the magnetic field would be your number one...
and then the sun's life chart...
 
HangLow said:
I knew you would go for Betelgeuse... but I had it second or third...
I thought the magnetic field would be your number one...
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It's not clear to me what the high magnetic field is FOR. Teams trying to break each other's records doesn't have the grand sense of purpose that ITER or the NIF have.

HangLow said:
and then the sun's life chart...
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I don't react much at all, to dire predictions on the scale of a billion years. At worst, it's a bit sad. Like the fun fair you went to as a kid, burning down and the proprietors going to jail for insurance fraud.

Even if there's something stopping us from colonizing other star systems, we could still move to the outer planets or even live in solar orbit. We'll be fine.
 
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