Could techniques for controlling single particles pave the way for quantum cryptography and computing?
Work on this has been ongoing for a while now but it is a slow process because of the difficulty involved in controlling large numbers of individual atoms. I recently read Michio Kaku’s book “Parallel Worlds” which has a small section on quantum computers and according to him it has only been possible to control 5 or 6 atoms. Unfortunately this amount is only powerful enough to calculate 4*3=12. To make a processor equivalent to an AMD or Pentium chip of today it is suggested that one would need to control around a thousand. The atoms themselves have to be housed in an extraordinarily stable environment, where magnets are used to control the spins of the atoms. This is extremely difficult and will have to be solved before we can even think about owning one at home. One of the most interesting aspects of quantum computers is the spectacular realisation that their massive potential power output can be achieved by utilising the fact that the electrons pass through multiple dimensions. Ind
