[ExI] 10 Breakthrough Technologies 2017

[spike]

-----Original Message-----
From: extropy-chat [mailto:extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org] On Behalf
Of BillK
Sent: Wednesday, February 22, 2017 11:34 AM
To: ExI chat list <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org>
Subject: Re: [ExI] 10 Breakthrough Technologies 2017

On 22 February 2017 at 15:39, spike wrote:
>>... WOW good question BillK.  How are they powered?
>

>...Well, nobody has built a proper quantum computer yet, (not counting
D-Wave), so we don't know yet.
Current estimate is 4 to 5 years.
See:
<https://www.technologyreview.com/s/603495/10-breakthrough-technologies-2017
-practical-quantum-computing/>
for some of the latest news.

>...The labs described there use tiny chips inside big refrigerators to get
the chips down to near absolute zero. In space, the fridges would disappear.
The processing depends on the manipulation of qubits, which currently
(during research) can take various forms. e.g. polarization of photons or
spin of electrons, etc.  So the power requirements should be less than
current computers, maybe even negligible.

>...We'll have to wait and see.  :)

>...BillK
_______________________________________________



Ja.  I need to make sure I understand this from an entropy point of view.
If computing is taking place, entropy is decreasing: we are finding answers
and arranging bits in a particular way.  If we really understand the hell
out of the second law of thermodynamics we should be able to get this one,
but I don't know if quantum computing does some kind of weird Heisenberg
voodoo to get around what I have always understood to be the way it works.

I would bet on the second law to hold somehow, but I might be wrong.

We need a Thermo wan Kenobi who really knows from quantum computing and the
second law.  Anyone here have buddies who are quantum hipsters with
thermodynamics guru-ism?

spike