Researchers at NIST have successfully performed a “quantum square dance” with thousands of rubidium atoms, a key step towards building quantum computers. The atoms were induced to swap “spins” with partners simultaneously, a process that could be used to perform logic operations in quantum computers.
The experiment demonstrated an essential part of a swap operation, where atom partners exchange their internal spin states. Unlike classical bits, quantum bits can be in an unusual state of having swapped and not swapped at the same time, creating entanglement – a quantum phenomenon that links the atoms’ properties even when they are physically separated.
The NIST experiment used about 60,000 rubidium atoms trapped within a three-dimensional grid of light formed by three pairs of infrared laser beams. The next step is to develop ways to address and manipulate any pair of atoms in the lattice, which should allow for scalable computer architectures.
Source: https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2007/08/thousands-atoms-swap-spins-quantum-square-dance
Keywords: Quantum, computers, spins, entanglement, atoms, bits, qubits, quantum mechanics, lasers, lattice, operations
