Capturing a Laser’s Light - The Next Step in Quantum Computing

Posted Oct 5th, 2005 by Chief Gizmateer

I really should have done more Physics in college, because I’m not even sure what the heck they mean by this, but some Australian scientists have slowed a speeding laser pulse and captured it in a crystal. Apparently, this is a huge step forward in the quest to build a quantum computer. Essentially, they’ve captured and then released a piece of light, and being able to control light in this fashion, in quanta (plural of quantum) or discrete amounts, is central to the task.

Want to know more about quantum computing? Check out the tutorials at Oxford University’s Centre for Quantum Computation, Jacob West’s paper on the Quantum Computer, or perhaps How Stuff Works‘ explanation of how a Quantum Computer *will* work.

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