Lifeboat Foundation

Quantum computers are here. But could we ever build a quantum laptop?

Physicists at Rice University and their collaborators have made a discovery that sheds new light on magnetism and electronic interactions in advanced materials, with the potential to transform technologies like quantum computing and high-temperature superconductors.

Led by Zheng Ren and Ming Yi, the research team’s study on iron-tin (FeSn) thin films reshapes scientific understanding of kagome magnets — materials named after an ancient basket-weaving pattern and structured in a unique, latticelike design that can create unusual magnetic and electronic behaviors due to the quantum destructive interference of the electronic wave function.

The findings, published in Nature Communications, reveal that FeSn’s magnetic properties arise from localized electrons, not the mobile electrons scientists previously thought. This discovery challenges existing theories about magnetism in kagome metals in which itinerant electrons were assumed to drive magnetic behavior. By providing a new perspective on magnetism, the research team’s work could guide the development of materials with tailored properties for advanced tech applications such as quantum computing and superconductors.

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IEEE Annals of the History of Computing’s new Editor-in-Chief Troy Astarte introduces themself and their background.

This complete shell structure results in enhanced stability compared to isotopes with different configurations.

“¹⁰⁰ Sn is also the heaviest nucleus comprising protons and neutrons in equal numbers — a feature that enhances the contribution of the short-range proton–neutron pairing interaction and strongly influences its decay via the weak interaction,” CERN researchers remarked in a previous study.

“Understanding the nuclear properties in the vicinity of ¹⁰⁰ Sn, which has been suggested to be the heaviest doubly magic nucleus with proton number Z (50) equal to neutron number N (50), has been a long-standing challenge for experimental and theoretical nuclear physics,” said the research team in the study.

Optical computing aims to replace electricity with light to achieve faster, energy-saving computing.

Researchers have now developed an optical programmable logic array (PLA) that overcomes key hurdles, running advanced logic operations like Conway’s Game of Life. This breakthrough showcases optical computing’s future potential.

For years, researchers have explored ways to use light for computing, seeking faster speeds and reduced energy consumption compared to conventional electronic systems. Optical computing, which relies on light instead of electricity for calculations, offers promising advantages like high parallelism and efficiency. However, implementing complex logic functions with light has been challenging, limiting its practical applications.

As the rivalry between quantum and classical computing intensifies, scientists are making unexpected discoveries about quantum systems.

Classical computers outperformed a quantum computer in simulations of a two-dimensional quantum magnet system, showing unexpected confinement phenomena. This discovery by Flatiron Institute researchers redefines the practical limits of quantum computing and enhances understanding of quantum-classical computational boundaries.

Classical computer triumphs over quantum advantage.

Mimicking high-level abstraction of the brain to achieve energy advantages is a fundamental issue in neuromorphic computing. Here, the authors fabricate an asynchronous chip and demonstrate a high-accuracy neuromorphic system with power consumption of 0.7mW.

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Once relegated to theory, a newly discovered quantum object could be used to create new devices that will outpace modern electronics.

A new kind of quantum object called orbital angular momentum monopole has been identified that could revolutionize the emerging field of orbitronics, which leverages the rotational quantum states of electrons for next-generation computing devices that are faster, more efficient, and with dramatically lower power consumption.

As a result, orbitronics is seen as a potential successor to traditional electronics, where data is stored, transferred, and manipulated by controlling electric currents within transistors. As transistor sizes approach the atomic scale in order to fit more components onto a single computer ship, there will eventually be a limit where a transistor cannot become any smaller.