(Dec 20, 2020 01:43 AM)C C Wrote: Silicon-based material with a direct band gap is the Physics World 2020 Breakthrough of the Year
https://physicsworld.com/a/silicon-based-material-with-a-direct-band-gap-is-the-physics-world-2020-breakthrough-of-the-year/

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This incredible particle only arises in two dimensions
https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a35006695/anyons-incredible-particle-quantum-computing/

INTRO: Physicists have confirmed the existence of an extraordinary, flat particle that could be the key that unlocks quantum computing. What is the rare and improbable anyon, and how on Earth did scientists verify them? “[T]hese particle-like objects only arise in realms confined to two dimensions, and then only under certain circumstances -- like at temperatures near absolute zero and in the presence of a strong magnetic field,” Discover explains.

Scientists have theorized about these flat, peculiar “particle-like objects” since the 1980s, and the very nature of them has made it sometimes seem impossible to ever verify them. But the qualities scientists believe anyons have also made them sound very valuable to quantum research and, now, quantum computers. The objects have many possible positions and "remember," in a way, what has happened. In a press release earlier this fall, Purdue University explains more about the value of anyons... (MORE)

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Quantum Teleportation Achieved, Say Team of Leading Scientists
https://thedebrief.org/quantum-teleportation-achieved-say-team-of-leading-scientists/

INTRO: A group of leading scientists announced the first-ever successful demonstration of sustained long-range, high-fidelity, quantum teleportation in a significant breakthrough. Working at Fermilab, a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science national laboratory, a consortium of scientists led by the California Institute of Technology say they were able to successfully teleport qubits of photons (quanta of light) over a fiber-optic network at distances greater than 27 miles (44 km).

Scientists say the achievement is a significant step towards realizing a viable quantum internet, which would revolutionize the world of computing and information technology. “Once fully developed, [quantum computers] can solve important problems that would take a classical computer millions of years,” Dr. Daniel Oblak of the University of Calgary and co-author of the recent study told The Debrief. (MORE)

(Dec 21, 2020 05:40 PM)Ostronomos Wrote: I'm tremendously ecstatic about this discovery. Anyons appear to be the groundbreaking method of building true self-awareness in machines.

Quote:“Once fully developed, [quantum computers] can solve important problems that would take a classical computer millions of years,”