Saturday, February 26, 2011

The cons of quantum calculations

The idea of a quantum computer also has its weaknesses. The most serious of them is called decoherence. It consists in the fact that quantum states that are superpozycjami stationary states are extremely unstable. Under the influence of external factors the system "falls" from the state of superposition and "jumps" to one of the stationary states. This is done within a small fraction of a second. Even the slightest contact with the environment can affect the result. One tested ways to solve this problem is keeping the atoms in magnetic traps and control them with pulses of laser light.