'Laser Tweezers' Used to Sort Atoms 92
luckyguesser writes to tell us that Physicists at the University of Bonn are claiming to have knocked down one more quantum computing hurdle. Utilizing what they term "laser tweezers" they were able to sort and align seven atoms while capturing it on film. The plan is to construct a quantum gate using atoms imprinted with data.
Back to the future (Score:1)
Does that mean SG1 will now be shown on the History Channel instead of SciFi?
Re:Back to the future (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Back to the future (Score:2)
Re:Back to the future (Score:2)
Finally... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Finally... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Finally... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Finally... (Score:1)
Hey! (Score:2)
A little more detail (Score:5, Informative)
http://news.softpedia.com/news/The-Atom-Sorting-M
Re:A little more detail (Score:1)
Cheesy movie of the 80s (Score:4, Funny)
Now Where is that chissel?
Then Yahoo Serious (as Einstine) Runs out with Beer with bubbles in his beer, chared from the Nuclear explosion.
Which makes me wonder Could mass production of Nano Tools could lead to acedental Nuclear Explosions?
Re:Cheesy movie of the 80s (Score:2)
Re:Cheesy movie of the 80s (Score:2)
Yes. That was covered in Yahoo Serious's smash-hit "Mr. Accident".
Tiny (Score:5, Funny)
Niiiiiiiice (Score:1)
Re:Niiiiiiiice (Score:2)
Re:Niiiiiiiice (Score:3, Informative)
Nonsense. First of all, nobody's really figured out much of a way to apply quantum computers to symmetric encryption, only to most public key cryptography. There are some ideas around that the fast database lookup you can do with a quantum computer should translate to some way to break symmetric encryption faster, but most current algorithms support long enough keys to combat that already.
Re:Niiiiiiiice (Score:1)
Maybe you should read up on what you're talking about before you call 'Nonsense' ;)
P.S. I have an MS in CS, so I don't need an explanation as to what exponential growth is.
Re:Niiiiiiiice (Score:2)
With the best algorithms known at the present time, searching an unsorted set is O(N) on a classical computer, and O(sqrt(N)) on a quantum computer. That means the key needs to be twice as long to give (roughly) the same number of steps. Right now, actual speed is harder to gue
Re:Niiiiiiiice (Score:1)
Re:Niiiiiiiice (Score:1, Funny)
A very roundabout way of saying 127 bits.
Re:Niiiiiiiice (Score:1)
Re:Niiiiiiiice (Score:2)
Solving the P vs NP problem relies on a breakthrough in mathematical thinking, not computing power/speed.
The only way I can see quantum computing solving the P vs. NP problem is if it presents a radically different model of computation than what we currently use today. IANAQCS, so if this is the case, please correct me!
Re:Niiiiiiiice (Score:1)
Re:Niiiiiiiice (Score:2)
Zany Solution (Score:2)
Re:Niiiiiiiice (Score:1)
Hoo Boy... (Score:5, Funny)
Being able to sort and manipulate things down to the atomic level?
This is going to make already messy divorce proceedings... even messier.
Cool stuff but... (Score:1)
ObEvil (Score:2)
Good work (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Good work (Score:1)
quantum fuzzy logic (Score:1, Interesting)
I'm guessing the hurdle jumped here has something to do with construction techniques. But...there are already many ways to get atoms perfectly lined up with each other. Using a crysta
Re:quantum fuzzy logic (Score:3, Interesting)
Its not about getting them "aligned perfectly", rather its about controlling the atoms without introducing no
Re:quantum fuzzy logic (Score:2, Interesting)
Don't tell anyone with OCD (Score:3, Funny)
film? (Score:1)
Re:film? (Score:4, Informative)
Lucky for you, I'm bored at work and have access to google's translation tools. It found a part of the university that did this, and it linked to a place that DOES have films:
Film: http://www.opticsexpress.org/abstract.cfm?URI=OPE
Just for reference, it was linked form here:
http://www.uni-bonn.de/Aktuelles/Presseinformatio
Re:film? (Score:1)
The search is on (Score:2, Funny)
Re:The search is on (Score:3, Funny)
if u read it closely (Score:2, Informative)
How many of these to make a computer? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:How many of these to make a computer? (Score:1)
All it should take is increasing the power of the laser itself.
How does this help the grad student's resume? (Score:3, Funny)
I Thought it Said... (Score:1)
Re:I Thought it Said... (Score:2, Funny)
And in 3...2...1... (Score:1)
Funny ad matching (Score:1)
http://news.softpedia.com/news/The-Atom-Sorting-Ma chine-29616.shtml [softpedia.com]
are about industrial conveyor belts? (I got "Belt Conveyors From the Industry Leader, QC Solutions") I can certainly understand it, given that the article has the text "'conveyor belt' consisting of lasers", but it's still wrong and funny!
University of Chicago has been doing this... (Score:5, Informative)
Granted, it seems like their tweezers might be slightly more precise than Chicago's, but as far as I can tell, the article is little more than University of Bonn's press-release saying that they're playing in the same league. Granted, Chicago now has 5 years of experience patenting the process and developing applications with it.
http://mrsec.uchicago.edu/Nuggets/Holographic_Opt
It should be noted Chicago's method is a little more "rubic's cubish" than Bonn's "conveyor belt" setup. Coupled with what is probably a different setup for the optical trap and laser mesh, and the 5 year difference in publications, I would doubt that there would be any patent conflict and that this will wind up being a competing product.
Also, my guess is that these laser tweezers are going to play a part in the design of the first functional general nanoassemblers (of the style of Enterprise's 'replicators', not of the style of a grey goo assembler).
Re:University of Chicago has been doing this... (Score:2)
Re:University of Chicago has been doing this... (Score:1, Interesting)
for 5 years with micro lens array. The point is that both these experiments have little
to do with the Bonn experiment. What the Bonn guys do, is actualy sort the atoms out, so
that the have exactly one atom in every well of the standing light wave they use as a
conveyer belt. Chicago and Hannover have only limited control of how many atoms are in
each micro trap. Furthermore, the whole conveyor belt is just the start. Now, the
Lazer tweeze (Score:2)
OB OCD (Score:4, Funny)
"Did anyone see my isotope of Boron?"
Witnessing the Evolution of Nerdy Jokes (Score:2)
In related news (Score:3, Funny)
"The game will be amazing", stated the researchers, "with state of the art graphics and the ability to play in multiple universes simultaneously."
The first beta release was expected some 25 years from now.
Yes, but... (Score:1)
Another way. mark Raizen (Score:3, Informative)
http://prola.aps.org/abstract/PRL/v89/i7/e070401 [aps.org]
In addition, 'laser culling' is a process by which a doppler-cooled set of atoms, kept in a MOT trap, can have the nuber of atoms whittled down by lowering the trap height. This can be done until a sub-poissionian regime is achieved and a definite number state is in the trap.
http://www.utexas.edu/opa/news/2006/01/physics04.
http://www.colorado.edu/physics/2000/bec/index.ht
Mini-me... (Score:2)
Didn't IBM do this in 1990 (Score:1)
http://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/vintag
"Writing on individual atoms" (Score:4, Insightful)
Yes, it is interesting (I don't think I am a Luddite) but attempts to make leading edge practical physics understandable by governments and the great unwashed seem doomed to founder in misunderstanding. This is not a conveyor belt, this is not a tweezer, and nobody is writing anything on atoms. It's about as helpful as saying that I've succeeded in using a matter transfer process to increase the potential energy of a car (I've driven up a hill.)
This may be a slightly excessive rant, but I do think that any attempt to popularise or spread understanding of science by proceeding from reality to an extremely high level analogical overview while completely missing all the science in the middle - is doomed to failure and symptomatic of a society with growing scientific illiteracy.
Re:"Writing on individual atoms" (Score:2, Informative)
Snort atoms? (Score:1)
wow. that would've been tough.
Re:See it in action (Score:2)
Adrian Monk came to mind.... (Score:1)
Read that as " to Short Atoms" (Score:1)
What about IBM? (Score:2)
Why brings using laser tweezers to do the same thing?
It doesn't seem simpler.. Maybe the temperature used can be higher? Or maybe it works with different atoms that can be used with an AFM? Or maybe it's easier to automate?
Frankly this article is poor, what is so interesting about using lasers instead of an AFM??
Re:What about IBM? (Score:1)
For chrissakes don't... (Score:2)
Dammit, where did I leave the laser tweezers? (Score:2)
A quantum gate? no use for digital circuits? (Score:2)