5 ms·

Fractons, for Real?

89 points by IntronExon 9y ago

kazinator 9y ago
> Back in the early 2000s, a question that kept attracting and frustrating people in quantum information is how to build a quantum hard drive to store quantum information. In the early 2000s, there still existed "Quantum" branded hard drives, in very popular use. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_Corporation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_Corporation At first I thought the image was a joke. Nope; you're just old now if you remember "Quantum Fireball".
- blattimwind 9y ago
  Back in the 90s we still had Quantum Effect processors, too.
- bringtheaction 9y ago
  > You're just old now if you remember "Quantum Fireball". I remember. 27 isn’t old is it?
  - overcast 9y ago
    According to SV startups, you're ancient. :)
- Taniwha 9y ago
  I still want to know who turned a "quantum change" from the very smallest change one can possibly make to something revolutionarily large (I bet it was some marketting guy)
  - krastanov 9y ago
    This is an amusing meme/complaint, but it is not really correct. In physics "quantum" does frequently imply very small, but its fundamental meaning is a "discrete" change with no intermediate state. Hence, it is perfectly correct to use "quantum leap" to describe a significant development. P.S. There are now plenty of real-world quantum systems that are centimeter sized. Check "cavity QED".
    - SiempreViernes 9y ago
      Quantum leap is also somewhat passable as a name for the period from 1905 to the 1950 when Quantum Mechanics established itself as the foundational theory of physics. I suspect the various pop-accounts of this period to be the source for quantum leap as a term for ”huge change” . I think Quantum revolution is the more common term for the period.
    - leggomylibro 9y ago
      So is it sort of like how we use 'atomic' to mean a single discrete operation in programming? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linearizability https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linearizability
      - TuringTest 9y ago
        Yes. The name "atom" literally meant "indivisible" in its original greek form. It's fitting for computations that go on undisturbed until completion.
        deleted 9y ago
        [deleted]
  - kazinator 9y ago
    That sounds like a variation of "quantum leap". https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/391644/etymology-of-quantum-leap https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/391644/etymology... "Quantum leap" justifiably jives with the quantum mechanical meaning.
    - krastanov 9y ago
      I am greatly amused to see that the answer on the English Stackexchange is from Peter Shor, one of the people that initiated the Quantum Computing revolution in the 90s and earlier.
      - kazinator 9y ago
        He's just sitting there googling for "quantum" anything.
  - Pxtl 9y ago
    https://www.smbc-comics.com/?id=2628 https://www.smbc-comics.com/?id=2628
Koshkin 9y ago
> more excitement in me... I feel so uncomfortable and so excited... I remained in this superposition of excited state and powerless state... I was excited about these results... we have an exciting road ahead of us On the other hand, saying "sugar" doesn't make it sweet (or exciting).
hpcjoe 9y ago
I like that they talk about their favorite tools and toy models. In grad school, I had a number of toy models and I got to use some of my favorite tools in my research/thesis write up. For me, one of my favorite tools was a form of perturbation theory which I could apply to all sorts of things. Didn't always work, and I think I annoyed my thesis advisor with it.
zaroth 9y ago
About halfway through TFA; “Things start to get technical from here, but...” Gee, thanks for the warning! </s>

89 points by IntronExon 9y ago

> Back in the early 2000s, a question that kept attracting and frustrating people in quantum information is how to build a quantum hard drive to store quantum information. In the early 2000s, there still existed "Quantum" branded hard drives, in very popular use. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_Corporation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_Corporation At first I thought the image was a joke. Nope; you're just old now if you remember "Quantum Fireball".

blattimwind 9y ago
Back in the 90s we still had Quantum Effect processors, too.
bringtheaction 9y ago
> You're just old now if you remember "Quantum Fireball". I remember. 27 isn’t old is it?
- overcast 9y ago
  According to SV startups, you're ancient. :)
Taniwha 9y ago
I still want to know who turned a "quantum change" from the very smallest change one can possibly make to something revolutionarily large (I bet it was some marketting guy)
- krastanov 9y ago
  This is an amusing meme/complaint, but it is not really correct. In physics "quantum" does frequently imply very small, but its fundamental meaning is a "discrete" change with no intermediate state. Hence, it is perfectly correct to use "quantum leap" to describe a significant development. P.S. There are now plenty of real-world quantum systems that are centimeter sized. Check "cavity QED".
  - SiempreViernes 9y ago
    Quantum leap is also somewhat passable as a name for the period from 1905 to the 1950 when Quantum Mechanics established itself as the foundational theory of physics. I suspect the various pop-accounts of this period to be the source for quantum leap as a term for ”huge change” . I think Quantum revolution is the more common term for the period.
  - leggomylibro 9y ago
    So is it sort of like how we use 'atomic' to mean a single discrete operation in programming? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linearizability https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linearizability
    - TuringTest 9y ago
      Yes. The name "atom" literally meant "indivisible" in its original greek form. It's fitting for computations that go on undisturbed until completion.
      - deleted 9y ago
        [deleted]
- kazinator 9y ago
  That sounds like a variation of "quantum leap". https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/391644/etymology-of-quantum-leap https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/391644/etymology... "Quantum leap" justifiably jives with the quantum mechanical meaning.
  - krastanov 9y ago
    I am greatly amused to see that the answer on the English Stackexchange is from Peter Shor, one of the people that initiated the Quantum Computing revolution in the 90s and earlier.
    - kazinator 9y ago
      He's just sitting there googling for "quantum" anything.
- Pxtl 9y ago
  https://www.smbc-comics.com/?id=2628 https://www.smbc-comics.com/?id=2628

Koshkin 9y ago

> more excitement in me... I feel so uncomfortable and so excited... I remained in this superposition of excited state and powerless state... I was excited about these results... we have an exciting road ahead of us On the other hand, saying "sugar" doesn't make it sweet (or exciting).

hpcjoe 9y ago

I like that they talk about their favorite tools and toy models. In grad school, I had a number of toy models and I got to use some of my favorite tools in my research/thesis write up. For me, one of my favorite tools was a form of perturbation theory which I could apply to all sorts of things. Didn't always work, and I think I annoyed my thesis advisor with it.

zaroth 9y ago

About halfway through TFA; “Things start to get technical from here, but...” Gee, thanks for the warning! </s>