The
computing community for many years has longed to be
able to to carry out high speed calculations using a
genuine Quantum Computer because it would facilitate
the practical factorisation of very large numbers and
the searching of unordered lists and databases. The
rapid breaking of secure codes based on prime numbers
would have a lot of practical applications particularly
in the banking and military field and would necessitate
the development of new cryptographic and security methods
to protect valuable data.
Academics working in the Department of Material Science
at the University of Oxford have successfully developed
a design protocol for inserting filled molecules of
Buckminsterfullerene (“Buckyballs”) into carbon, and
other types of nanotube. The Buckyballs are themselves
filled with molecules that have either an electronic
or structural property which can be used to represent
the quantum bit (Qubit) of information, and which can
be associated with other adjacent Qubits. The improved
stability of the system now allows several thousand
operations to be executed before quantum interference
occurs (“decoherence”). Intensive collaborative work
is continuing in order to develop the protocol into
a working computer.
If you would like to find out more about this technology,
please contact Isis Innovation Ltd.
Isis
Innovation Ltd is the technology transfer company
for Oxford University. Isis was set up to help researchers
within the University who wish to commercialise the
results of their research. The services that Isis
is able to provide for the academics includes; licensing
intellectual property; facilitating the formation
of new companies and providing help with the marketing
of their consulting and services expertise.
Reference URL http://www.isis-innovation.com
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