Comments | matgb: Can someone explain this to me?

matgb

Can someone explain this to me?

Feb 24, 2006 00:01

I know there are some physicists and other science types hanging around, this looks very cool, but it's way beyond my normal abilities to get the basics of science.
Quantum computer solves problem, without running
“In a sense, it is the possibility that the algorithm could run which prevents the algorithm from running,” Kwiat said. “That is at ( Read more... )

quantum, firefox extensions, science

Comments 4

silentgreeneyes February 24 2006, 01:17:14 UTC

Ok.. my only response is 'what the fuck?'

I know quantum stuff in physics is generally odd.. but this seems completely against logic.
Oh well, if it works it works :)

The bow-tie on the guy in the photo though is scary o_o

johnwordsworth February 24 2006, 04:14:41 UTC

I think the theory behind the article is related to the Negative-Result experiment idea (Reninger's maybe?). Anyhow - the basic theory being, you can often infer a truth purely because something HASN'T happened ( ... )

poifaerie February 24 2006, 06:59:14 UTC

In the equivalent of monosyllabic words...

A photon can be considered as a particle or a wave, or both at the same time, or neither (like liquids have properties of solids, gases, both and neither all at once). The particle bit can be considered to be in one state, or position, and the wave bit in another state or position while the photon is in both but yet neither states... with me so far?

There are lots of routes the photon could take through the algorith to reach an answer (like there are lots of routes through a building to get to a certain room), but they need only detect it in one position of one state to know where it it heading. So by superpositioning a photon is states of 1 and 0 (ie "run program" and "don't run program",) physicists are a very clever lot who can take a small amount of information (the position and state of a certain photon at a certain time) and extrapolate to find the large answer.

Does that help?

matgb February 24 2006, 13:57:46 UTC

I think that now makes sense to me.

I was going to study physics, but the school was crap, I dumped the subject when we realised the teacher (for A level) had to check the text book several points during a lesson. It was either switch school or subject; school was 5 minutes walk, so I took history instead.