English | EN THE END OF BIG DATA
Nov 9, 2012
When can we expect this Big Data thing to end? Some people are getting a little fed up with the topic although the best and most relevant is definitely yet to come. Still, their irritation is a perfect trigger to try and scope today’s instrumental Big Data issues a bit more.
So, what technology could in one fell swoop blow away the current Big Data hype that eclipses the real questions and answers?
The Quantum Solution
The solution that comes to mind is quantum computing. Quantum computers will in theory excel at the massively parallel processing of unstructured data. So-called “quantum entanglement” can bring revolutionary new technologies for secure communication and ultra-fast computation. It is one of the most intriguing phenomena in physics.
Spooky Action at a Distance
When two particles are entangled, their properties are so strongly connected that they lose their own identity. Measuring both particles yields fully correlated outcomes, even when the particles are very far apart. Einstein famously called this feature “spooky action at a distance.” It was only after John Bell in 1964 found an inequality that could prove these weird properties that entanglement was accepted as a fundamental part of nature.
Diamond Qubits
Atomic nuclei in synthetic diamond are promising building blocks for a quantum computer. They behave like a tiny magnet. The two orientations of the magnetic spin can be used to encode information in so-called quantum bits, or “qubits.” Scientists from the Netherlands (Delft University of Technology and the FOM Foundation) and the UK (Element Six) have now brought two atomic nuclei in a diamond into a quantum entangled state. This exotic relation was created by subjecting the nuclei to a new type of quantum measurement. These experiments mark an important step towards the realization of a quantum computer. The results were published on 14 October 2012 online in Nature Physics.
Teleportation
The scientists proved that the nuclei were entangled by violating the famous Bell inequality. The team now plans to use the entanglement to demonstrate basic quantum algorithms that have no classical counterpart, such as the teleportation of spin states.
Explaining Computers
In two uniquely authoritative articles on Big Data and Quantum Computing, uber nerd Christopher Barnatt of ExplainingComputers.com presents these trending topics in a way that will mitigate the irritation of even the grumpiest Big Data haters. Only to realize that there is no end to Big Data but that the instrumental hype may soon end. Big Data will progress as artificial intelligence advances, and as new types of computer processing power become available. In March 2012 the U.S. National Security Agency announced that it is spending $2bn on a highly-fortified data center with a 512 qubit quantum computer called Vesuvius. Now it’s time for really hard questioning and answering . . .
Big Brother
CIA Chief Petraeus explains: “Items of interest will be located, identified, monitored, and remotely controlled through technologies such as radio-frequency identification, sensor networks, tiny embedded servers, and energy harvesters — all connected to the next-generation Internet using abundant, low-cost, and high-power computing. The latter now going to cloud computing, in many areas greater and greater supercomputing, and, ultimately, heading to quantum computing.”
Source: Atomic nuclei intimately entangled by a quantum measurement, TU Delft 2012
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