科學(xué)家們剛剛在日常電子產(chǎn)品中創(chuàng)造了量子態(tài)

科學(xué)家們剛剛在日常電子產(chǎn)品中創(chuàng)造了量子態(tài)

Quantum computing has the potential to revolutionise the processing power at our fingertips, but for the moment a lot of it is just potential.

量子計算有可能徹底改變我們指尖的處理能力，但就目前而言，它有很多只是潛力。

Researchers have been uncertain on whether we'll ever be able to harness quantum computing in a practical, affordable, realistic way. But we might have an exciting new lead.

研究人員一直不確定我們是否能夠以一種實際的、負(fù)擔(dān)得起的、現(xiàn)實的方式利用量子計算。但我們可能會有一個令人興奮的新線索。

Two new studies show how quantum technologies can work with everyday electronics – specifically, transmitting quantum information using devices made from silicon carbide, a material which is already used everywhere from LED lights to telescopes.

兩項新的研究表明了量子技術(shù)如何應(yīng)用于日常電子產(chǎn)品——具體來說，就是利用碳化硅制造的設(shè)備來傳輸量子信息，這種材料已經(jīng)被廣泛應(yīng)用于從LED燈到望遠(yuǎn)鏡的各個領(lǐng)域。

Today's quantum computers are, strictly speaking, just scaled-down, prototype versions of what we one day hope quantum computers can be. They require a lot of delicate instruments, exotic materials, careful engineering, and specific conditions in which to operate; you can't just order a laptop version for your home.

今天的量子計算機，嚴(yán)格地說，只是縮小了的，原型版本，我們希望有一天量子計算機可以成功。它們需要許多精密的儀器、奇異的材料、精細(xì)的工程和操作的具體條件，你不能只在家里訂購一臺筆記本電腦。

The researchers at work. (David Awschalom)What these new studies show is a potential way to bring parts of the quantum computing promise to the electronics that are already in use – although as ever in the quantum realm, there's still a lot of uncertainty.

工作中的研究人員。這些新研究表明，將量子計算的部分前景應(yīng)用于已在使用的電子產(chǎn)品是一種潛在的方式——盡管與以往一樣，在量子領(lǐng)域仍有許多不確定性。

The ability to create and control high-performance quantum bits in commercial electronics was a surprise, says molecular engineer David Awschalom, from the University of Chicago.

芝加哥大學(xué)的分子工程師David Awschalom說:“在商業(yè)電子領(lǐng)域創(chuàng)造和控制高性能量子比特的能力令人吃驚。”

These discoveries have changed the way we think about developing quantum technologies – perhaps we can find a way to use today's electronics to build quantum devices.

“這些發(fā)現(xiàn)改變了我們對發(fā)展量子技術(shù)的看法——也許我們可以找到一種方法，利用今天的電子技術(shù)來建造量子設(shè)備。”

The scientists were able to generate quantum states in silicon carbide that emitted single particles of light, with a wavelength near the telecommunications band. That means our current network infrastructure might not need too much tweaking to carry quantum information.

科學(xué)家們能夠在碳化硅中產(chǎn)生量子態(tài)，發(fā)射出單個粒子的光，其波長接近電信波段。這意味著我們目前的網(wǎng)絡(luò)基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施可能不需要太多的調(diào)整來承載量子信息。

In the first study, the scientists created what they called a "quantum FM radio", capable of sending quantum information across long distances with high levels of control.

在第一項研究中，科學(xué)家們創(chuàng)造了他們所稱的“量子調(diào)頻收音機”，能夠在高度控制下遠(yuǎn)距離發(fā)送量子信息。

For their second trick, the team used a basic electronics element called a diode to free a quantum signal of noise and make it almost perfectly stable – addressing one of the major problems in quantum computing at the moment.

在他們的第二招中，團(tuán)隊使用了一種叫做二極管的基本電子元件來釋放量子信號中的噪聲，使其幾乎完全穩(wěn)定——解決了目前量子計算中的一個主要問題。

The diode acts as a one-way switch for electrons excited by the lasers used in the course of quantum experiments, effectively removing the electrons from the system and making the environment much less noisy.

在量子實驗過程中，二極管充當(dāng)了由激光激發(fā)的電子的單向開關(guān)，有效地將電子從系統(tǒng)中移除，使環(huán)境中的噪聲大大降低。

As promising as they are, these advances aren't going to put a quantum laptop on your desk anytime soon – but they do give scientists more hope that quantum computing through classical systems might one day become a reality.

盡管這些進(jìn)展很有希望，但它們不會很快讓量子筆記本電腦出現(xiàn)在你的桌子上——但它們確實給了科學(xué)家們更多的希望，即通過經(jīng)典系統(tǒng)進(jìn)行的量子計算有一天可能會成為現(xiàn)實。

In September we saw researchers creating something approaching a quantum computer which could operate at room temperature, and used modified versions of the components found in classic computers, so this is a research area that's gaining momentum.

今年9月，我們看到研究人員發(fā)明了一種接近量子計算機的東西，它可以在室溫下運行，并使用了經(jīng)典計算機中發(fā)現(xiàn)的組件的改良版本，因此這是一個正在發(fā)展的研究領(lǐng)域。

This work brings us one step closer to the realisation of systems capable of storing and distributing quantum information across the world's fibre-optic networks, says Awschalom.

Awschalom說:“這項工作讓我們離實現(xiàn)能夠在全球光纖網(wǎng)絡(luò)中存儲和分發(fā)量子信息的系統(tǒng)又近了一步。”

Such quantum networks would bring about a novel class of technologies allowing for the creation of unhackable communication channels, the teleportation of single electron states and the realisation of a quantum internet.

“這樣的量子網(wǎng)絡(luò)將帶來一種新的技術(shù)，允許創(chuàng)建不可攻破的通信通道，實現(xiàn)單電子態(tài)的隱形傳態(tài)，實現(xiàn)量子互聯(lián)網(wǎng)。”

The research has been published in Science Advances and Science.

這項研究發(fā)表在《科學(xué)進(jìn)展與科學(xué)》雜志上。