quantum processor

[MSGT]

It's much too early for AMD or Intel to start looking over their shoulder, but the University (http://www.tgdaily.com/2006/01/17/uofmich_quantumchip/#) of Michigan has developed a quantum chip that contains one cadmium ion. The ion, which is suspended in electrical fields, can exist in many possible states which collapse into one when viewed by an outsider. Quantum computing (http://www.tgdaily.com/2006/01/17/uofmich_quantumchip/#) has been touted as great leap in computing, but still faces many challenges.
Composed of gallium arsenide, the quantum chip was made with the same microlithography process (http://www.tgdaily.com/2006/01/17/uofmich_quantumchip/#) that many modern processors are made of. Miniature lasers blast the trapped ion giving it various "spin" states. Ions must be protected from the environment to prevent "decoherence" a process where the ion's data is corrupted by the surrounding environment.


http://www.tgdaily.com/2006/01/17/uofmich_quantumchip/

[DesertFox]

I personally don't think quantum computing has much of a future since it would require so much hardware to keep it uncorrupted by its environment. It would also require a veritable battery of different kinds of lasers to alter its spin state, and another battery of hardware to time the lasers' firings.

Simpler to use standard methods, the refinements of which already have in many ways bumped up against the limits of the human anatomy.

Which supposes that some major new innovation won't completely change the way we think about these things. No doubt the quantum is part of that.