Category: Technology

Quantum Computing – The Next Big Revolution

From classical computers to the modern day mobile and VR era, science and technology have completely revolutionized the world like never before. And it seems to be just the beginning. The world is about to witness the next big revolution in technology with Quantum Computing.

Where do we stand when it comes to understanding it?

Researchers and scientists from all over the world have thoroughly explored and realized the exceptional computing capabilities of this discrete quantity of energy. Leading technology companies namely, IBM, Google, and several others are striving to introduce a whole new era of quantum-based computers. IBM has unveiled “System One” and shared its vision to bring this unique invention to the commercial market.

How does Quantum Computing work?

In order to draw a better understanding of this whole new technology, one has to understand the concept of “Qubits” which is similar to “Bits” in classical computing. Just like classical computing relies on the binary system that builds bits, Quantum computing relies on Qubits. These super-conducting electrons – a type of subatomic particle – enable a multilayer circuit to work.

The Quantum Leap and Artificial Intelligence

In an era where Artificial Intelligence can analyze and break down the data using classical computing, “System One” is expecting to give an unbelievable boost to AI with Quantum Computing. It looks like IBM and many other renowned names in the field of science and technology have started to believe Quantum Computing as a dream for the “not too distant future” of the modern day world.

What are the Current Challenges?

According to the researchers, Quantum Computing can add great value to the existing concept of Artificial Intelligence by enabling it to extract restrained patterns within huge datasets. According to IBM scientists, they aim to build a strong and truly capable Quantum Machine which can outpace any classical computer when it comes to machine learning tasks.

Most of the industry experts and scientists have concluded that Quantum Computing may contribute extensively to the area of medical research and climate change but will not be sophisticated enough to resolve the existing scientific mysteries.

On the other hand, scientists and researchers are still striving to predict the possible uses of Quantum Computing. Moreover, they are still unclear about patterns and data-centric discoveries they should look for.

Conclusion

Leading companies are trying new and unique ways to use quantum computing and find out how it can aid and extend the various capabilities of classic computing. Researchers have concluded that the idea of Quantum Computing can benefit several diverse industries across the world which could include healthcare, climate, finance, energy and a lot more. Keeping this in view, it cannot be denied that Quantum Computing is about to become the future of today’s world while bringing exceptional technological leaps in other areas of research and development.

Algorithm Control

In the modern day world of high-end technology and futuristic inventions, recognizing the role of algorithms is of paramount importance. From classical computers and gaming consoles to modern day mobile technology, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and big data, it is the algorithm that has made it possible for us to come across these fantastic inventions.

While taking a brief outlook of how these technologies began and consider the rising demands of the end users, it is quite evident that mankind has used technology as a vital tool to achieve greater ease and comfort, but it seems like Algorithms have started to control our lives.

Let’s take a look at why algorithm control has become one of the most trending topics across the global IT sector.

Algorithms Now Run Several Industries

It cannot be denied that modern-day systems and software are completely backed by high-end computing and information technology which is solely based on Algorithms. From the world’s most famous search engine Google to a more diversified set of domains such as stocks, finance, investments, marketing, engineering, and many more. According to most of the industry analysts and experts, the use of the algorithm is now starting to control our lives.

Can It Be Blindly Trusted?

Putting blind trust on algorithms and then encountering its adverse repercussions has become one of the most prominent and widely discussed topics among researchers and industry analysts.

According to them, putting greater trust in today’s algorithm based technologies and systems result in severe market crashes. Most of the researchers have found that dependency upon computing, data, and algorithms have made the entire finance industry its primary dependent. From banks and financial institutions to stocks and shares, everything is now completely controlled by algorithm-based systems and software which is a blessing but at the same time a threat to skyrocketing industry progress.

Human Vs Machines

We cannot deny that today’s fast-paced digital marketplaces and global businesses run on machines that have already decreased the need for excessive manpower. It was the biggest economic change the world has ever experienced and appears not to be ending any time soon if data and algorithms continue to influence the domain of technology.

Findings

The modern world relies completely on exchanging capital for labor which creates economic growth and it is indeed one of the biggest concern that today’s technological leaps are rapidly decreasing the need for labor.

Industry critics and analysts have supported the claim that data and algorithms will continue to transform the shape of today’s world, and to a greater extent our near future.

Turning Back Time

We have all heard about “Time Travel” in films and books and the concept of traveling into the future. But, scientists are now focused on the real possibility of going back into the time.

The Latest Scientific Development

Although it sounds like a strange concept modern-day scientists are striving to make time travel a reality by using Quantum Computing – a completely new idea and concept of computing which relies on “Qubits” instead of “bits” in classical computing technology.

After reviewing today’s research and development in the area of modern-day technology, some Russian scientists have claimed that they have actually rolled back the flow of time in a Quantum Computing based experiment.

Findings from the Experiment

According to the research published on the journal Nature Scientific Reports by Gordey Lesovik, a quantum physicist at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, he has created an artificial state that is capable of evolving in contrast to the thermodynamic arrow of time; however, the discovery is not at all capable of transforming its shape into a time machine.

Lesovik’s team has conducted numerous experiments to reverse time on a single electron programmed quantum system. Compared to the three-qubits system that is more complex and resulted in only 49% succession in the objective, they found it easier to achieve an unbelievable 85% of succession towards their desired goal with a two-qubit system.

It is imperative to understand that quantum computing has nothing to do with time traveling, but everything is currently unclear due to a lack of supporting arguments and evidence. Nevertheless, it is surprising to know that Russian scientists have made the impossible happen.

The majority of scientists, researchers, and analysts have concluded that an immense amount of comprehensive research and development is needed to achieve the desired effect from quantum computing. On the other hand, scientists continue to face several limitations to study and explore more about this subatomic discovery.

While looking at the current span of knowledge that we have about quantum physics and quantum computing, we have not yet stepped into an era where we are able to build a time machine for humans, but scientists from all over the world consider it a huge leap forward that will help them further explore quantum computing and the possibilities it may bring.

Russian Internet

The whole world is connected through one common medium: the internet. Wherever it could reach, it did and the whole world’s information is fed to this global monopoly. However, one country has realized the benefits and power that could be achieved if they significantly separated their internet traffic from the rest of the world. Let’s explore all that is currently known about the internet situation in Russia.

Disconnect To Connect

The Russian Government has already decided to disconnect the internet across Russia before April this year. However, Russians need not worry as they will only carry out the disconnection experiment for a brief moment. The brief internet interlude will help the government gain critical insights in order to provide feedback for modifications in accordance with the telecom law that was proposed in the Russian Parliament at the end of 2018.

The Government of Russia had already announced two years ago that they are planning to source 95% of internet traffic through local mediators. By 2020, they want to regulate incoming and outgoing internet traffic in complete isolation from the world.

Before April 1st of this year, the amendments to this law, also known as the Digital Economy National Program, must be submitted.

But… Why Exactly?

Apparently, Russia wants to strengthen its cybersecurity in efforts to secure themselves against other countries trying to invade them. This shutdown will help them test whether the local networks will be resilient enough and if all, or a massive proportion, of the internet traffic, can be filtered through. Internet providers in Russia will now have to abide by a newly introduced law that states that the internet traffic will only be directed through ‘government approved servers,’ making sure that content bans are enforced.

Will It Work?

President Putin’s endorsed law is fully expected to pass. Discussions are still going on as the technicalities are still being worked on. Disconnecting the entire country’s internet isn’t a joke, especially in this technology dominated world. They are trying to figure out a way in which Russia can be completely disconnected from the internet without hindering government bodies, companies and consumers and starting up again smoothly.

Russia’s biggest telecom regulator, Roskomnazor will be the ones to reroute the internet traffic in Russia to a specific exchange pointed managed by them.

What Could This Mean?

Of course, many people are speculating that Russia is trying to hide their plans and critical developments in the coming years, which could be considered as a big threat to other weaker countries and the superpowers as well. Alongside, The Russian Population will have very strict, regulated and monitored internet privileges.

It could be said that they are building The Great Firewall of Russia.

Fake Foliage

Finally, people have started to take the environment seriously! With vast deforestation, global warming and depletion of the ozone layers, we need to start being extremely careful in the way we live our lives. However, the University of Illinois at Chicago has developed fake plants that can actually ‘recycle’ carbon dioxide. This is an effort to reduce the amounts of harmful gases found in the atmosphere and thus, produce clean fuel.

This ‘fuel’ is generated by the sun, meaning it actually mimics plants during photosynthesis. The researcher Salehi-Khojin stated, “Real leaves use the energy from the sun and convert carbon dioxide to sugar. In the artificial leaf, we use the sun and we convert CO2 to (synthetic gas), which can be converted to any hydrocarbon, like gasoline.”

Seems incomprehensible? Well, the process basically involves the sun’s energy rearranging the chemical bonds composing carbon dioxide. The energy from the sun gets stored as a chemical bond, generating the ability to be burned as fuel. The technology companies face a lot of issues trying to store batteries. Particularly where solar panels and wind turbines have been developed to generate sustainable energy, providing corporations with an energy source in the form of solar and wind farms. But the ability to store the generated energy has not yet been discovered. Until now.

The director of the Institute for Sustainability and Energy at Northwestern University, Professor Micheal R, Wasielewski, said “Whether you use solar or wind to generate electricity, you have a source that’s intermittent and not storable, so what you need to do is find a storage method. This fake foliage closes the carbon cycle so you don’t have any excess CO2, so it’s an environmentally friendly way of storing renewable energy.”

The Salehi-Khojin team at the UIC found a compound that had the ability to break down and rearrange the chemical bonds composing carbon dioxide better than the traditionally used gold and silver. Salehi-Khojin thinks that a prototype could be ready for use in the next 5 years with the help of a suitable manufacturing company. They believe it can be placed in solar farms alongside the power plants in order to recycle the carbon dioxide collected and convert it to be used as energy.

Professor Nathan Lewis of the California Institute of Technology, who has been researching artificial photosynthesis and solar fields for over 40 years, says that the development by Salehi-Khojin is just the starting piece of a product that will be widely executed in the near future. “There’s a lot of steps that need to occur to envision how these things would translate into a commercializable system, but it’s a step for building a piece of a full system that may be useful. It’s going to take a lot of effort from a lot of people to really push this over the goal line.”

Salehi-Khojin are yet to patent their technology and they were recipients of a $330,000 grant by the National Foundation last year to help further their research.

This is still a groundbreaking discovery by UIC which can really help to transform our environmental state if employed correctly.

New Hadron Collider

In the search for particles and in the name of science, physicists have gone to great lengths to satiate man’s hunger for knowledge. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that in this quest, the largest ever built machine would be the Hadron Collider, the particle accelerator. More commonly called the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) was built by the CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) which was established in the year 1954, the main purpose of this lab’s research is particle acceleration and detection.

The purpose of LHC has been to provide physicists enough grounds where they can practice and test their theories of particle physics. However, LHC will soon have a successor which in many ways will be bigger, and better – the Future Circular Collider (FCC).

Why did the world of science decide that LHC needed a stronger replacement?

Why the need of FCC

Image: Dominionart / Shutterstock.com

From its point of conception, LHC was definitely the most awaited machine in the physicist’s world as the previous models of subatomic particles and their interaction tests weren’t making sense. With the very existence of LHC, the most important thing that happened was the way it transformed how particle physics looked. The much-discussed discovery of Higgs Boson was made, that filled in the questionable gaps in the theories but after that, there has not been any new discoveries.

According to CERN, a new collider might be able to take a further leap into the mysteries of the particle world. Starting from the understanding of dark matter, the concept of matter in contrast to the antimatter. This may not be a very popular belief somehow, as there are other scientists who do not believe that a new bigger machine would lead to any newer discoveries.

CERNs’ Main Concern for Building FCC

CERN claims that this new collider would be three to four times the size and possess seven to ten times the power of the LHC making it faster and able to cover larger parameters with more precision.

What LHC has been able to do for science is give answers to several unanswered questions and paint a complete picture of the standard model of particle physics. This is precisely what CERN wishes to accomplish from the making of this newer version, perhaps uncovering many other unsolved, unanswered mysteries.