Working out a timescale for quantum operations
Wednesday, June 17, 2009 - 03:35
in Physics & Chemistry
One of the issues affecting quantum systems is coherence. Understanding coherence and how it breaks down (decoherence) is one of the keys to putting together a powerful quantum computer. And, because wires made from metal are likely to be involved, it is not surprising that some scientists are interested in finding out how decoherence comes about in metallic quantum systems. A recent experiment done with mesoscopic wires may shed light on the question of quantum coherence in metallic systems.