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Submission + - Physicists Extend Qubit Lifespan in Pivotal Validation of Quantum Computing (sciencealert.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Quantum computing promises to be a revolutionary tool, making short work of equations that classical computers would struggle to ever complete. Yet the workhorse of the quantum device, known as a qubit, is a delicate object prone to collapsing. Keeping enough qubits in their ideal state long enough for computations has so far proved a challenge. In a new experiment, scientists were able to keep a qubit in that state for twice as long as normal. Along the way, they demonstrated the practicality of quantum error correction (QEC), a process that keeps quantum information intact for longer by introducing room for redundancy and error removal. The idea of QEC has been around since the mid-90s, but it's now been shown to work in real time. Part of the reason for the experiment's success was the introduction of machine learning AI algorithms to tweak the error correction routine.

"For the first time, we have shown that making the system more redundant and actively detecting and correcting quantum errors provided a gain in the resilience of quantum information," says physicist Michel Devoret, from Yale University in Connecticut. [...] Like many quantum physics experiments, this one was run at ultra-cold temperatures – a hundred times colder than outer space, in this case. The setup has to be carefully controlled in order to protect the qubit as much as possible. The error-corrected qubit lasted for 1.8 milliseconds – only a blink as we might experience it, but an impressive span for a qubit operating on the quantum level. Now the research team will be able to refine the process further. "Our experiment shows that quantum error correction is a real practical tool," says Devoret. "It's more than just a proof-of-principle demonstration."
Technology

Festo's Drone Dragonfly Takes To the Air 45

Posted by samzenpus from the little-flyer dept.
yyzmcleod writes "Building on the work of last year's bionic creation, the Smart Bird, Festo announced that it will literally launch its latest creation, the BionicOpter, at Hannover Messe in April. With a wingspan of 63 cm and weighing in at 175 grams, the robotic dragonfly mimics all forms of flight as its natural counterpart, including hover, glide and maneuvering in all directions. This is made possible, the company says, by the BionicOpter's ability to move each of its four wings independently, as well as control their amplitude, frequency and angle of attack. Including its actuated head and body, the robot exhibits 13 degrees of freedom, which allows it to rapidly accelerate, decelerate, turn and fly backwards."

Comment Actually somewhat common (Score 5, Informative) 317

by ASimPerson (#34781464) Attached to: Magnetic Pole Shift Affects Tampa Airport
This has happened before, and it'll happen again.

Airport runway numbers are based off their magnetic headings with the last zero removed. So a runway that runs due south/north is 18/36 (i.e., it faces 180 degrees south and 360 degrees north - 0 isn't used). A runway that runs due east/west is 9/27. And so on. When there are parallel runways facing the same direction, the L, C, and R designations are used. A pair for parallel east/west runways are 9R/27L and 9L/27R.

So as the pole drifts this sometimes causes runways to have be renumbered. One previous example is Reagan-National airport in Washington, D.C., where runways 1/19 and 4/22 were originally 18/36 and 3/21.

Comment Re:SHOULD it happen? I'm not convinced. (Score 1) 567

by ASimPerson (#29623343) Attached to: California Requests Stimulus Funding For Bullet Train
Planning has been underway since before the vote last year. The HSR will have its own right-of-way and will require building new track. Am I confident it's going to happen? Eh, maybe. But the idea is that it will be true high-speed rail, and with that requires specially constructed track and all the trappings thereof.
The Internet

AT&T Blocks Part of 4chan 342

Posted by timothy from the do-you-hear-that-tremendous-whining-noise? dept.
holdenkarau writes "Several news sources (Mashable, The Inquistr, etc.) are reporting that AT&T is blocking img.4chan.org in the southern United States. That server is used for the infamous /b/ board (the home of anonymous). TechCrunch calls the decision to block 4chan 'stupid,' noting that they may have 'opened perhaps the most vindictive, messy can of worms.' The Inquisitr suggests that 'The global internet censorship debate landed in the home of the free.' moot (who runs 4chan) asks users to call AT&T, while some others suggest more drastic action (like cutting AT&T fiber)." Update: 07/27 09:23 GMT by T : Readers' comments below suggest that a) the purpose of the block was to curtail the effects of a serious DDoS attack and b) that the block has now been lifted, at least for some regions.
Hardware Hacking

DMCA Exemptions Desired To Hack iPhones, Remix DVDs 188

Posted by timothy from the what's-on-the-shortlist dept.
An anonymous reader writes "For copyright activists, Christmas comes but once every three years: a chance to ask Santa for a new exemption to the much-hated Digital Millennium Copyright Act's prohibitions against hacking, reverse engineering and evasion of Digital Rights Management (DRM) schemes protecting all kinds of digital works and electronic items. Judging from the list of 20 exemptions requested this year [19 shown], some in the cyber-law community are thinking big. The requests include the right to legally jailbreak iPhones in order to use third party software, university professors wishing to rip clips from DVDs for classroom use, YouTube users wishing to rip DVDs to make video mashups, a request to allow users to hack DRM protecting content from stores that have gone bankrupt or shut down, and a request to allow security researchers to reverse engineer video games with security flaws that put end-users at risk." Reader MistaE provides some more specific links to PDF versions: "Among the exemption proposals is a request from the Harvard Cyberlaw Clinic to allow circumvention of DRM protection when the central authorization server goes down, a request from the EFF to allow circumvention to install third party programs on phones, as well as a request for ripping DVDs for non-commercial purposes. There were also several narrow requests from educational institutions to rip DVDs for classroom practices."

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