A Step in the Quantum direction!
March 29, 2008
A small step for making quantum computers a reality has been achieved by researchers in the U.K. This minor but important advancement — The creation of the first logic gate on a silicon chip that can process individual photons.
Individual photons of light show great promise as quantum bits of information (qubits) in a quantum computer because they can travel great distances through optical fibres or even air without losing their quantum nature. One reason for this is that individual photons of light do not normally interact with each other. However, this makes it hard to create devices for processing quantum information such as logic gates, which rely on the interaction of two or more photons.
3-D chip stacks - Future of Computing?
March 23, 2008
Mr. Moore predicted that the number of transistors that fit on a piece of silicon would double almost every two years. However, this axiom will be trumped in 15 years or less. This is due to the increasing difficulty faced when manipulating transistors the size of atoms. So, what direction can our favourtie piece of silicon go?
It looks like IBM has been working on a solution to help. It’s called a 3-D chip stack and it looks promising. Hypothetically, it’s possible to move data 1000X faster than we do now. How? Using TSVs (through-silicon vias) that go through the chip and connect to the next layer directly below it. Currently, chips connect along the outer edges which is slow and limiting.
Keep your eyes peeled — IBM is slated to begin selling this technology soon.
The Time Fountain - Optical Illusion
February 25, 2008
Start with the video…
How are the effects possible?
Strobe lights work by only allowing us to see an object a few times a second. Because our brain is still merging the images it’s getting from the retina, the effect is that we perceive the object in “slow motion.” Some objects, such as a dripping water, can even be made to appear “frozen” by matching the flashes of light to the speed of the object.
You can check out more detailed info here: http://cre.ations.net/creation/the-time-fountain
Phun - 2D Physics Sandbox
February 25, 2008
Check out PHUN in this video –
“Phun is a Master of Science Theises by Computing Science student Emil Ernerfeldt for supervisor Kenneth Bodin at VRLab, Umeå University. The solver is based on work by Claude Lacoursière
Phun is meant to be a playground where people can be creative. It can also be used as an educational tool to learn about physics concepts such as restitution and friction.
Phun was coded in C++ using OpenGL, GLEW, SDL (for window management), SDL_image (for reading images) and boost, including boost_filesystem. Everything was coded by me, including the physics engine and user interface.”
– http://www.acc.umu.se/~emilk/index.html
Download the Beta version here
Enjoy all of the 2D physics that you can handle.
If you design anything interesting record it and we’ll post the video.
Star Wars vs. Star Trek
December 17, 2007
aizen Design