From itumeztr@sariyer.cc.itu.edu.tr Tue Mar  4 11:35:12 1997
Date: Fri, 31 Jan 1997 19:05:31 +0200 (EET)
From: ITU Mezunlari Dernegi Haber Dagitim Merkezi
     <itumeztr@sariyer.cc.itu.edu.tr>
To: ** ITUMD ** ISTANBUL TEKNIK UNIVERSITESI MEZUNLARI DERNEGI ULUSLARARASI
     KURULUSU <itumeztr@sariyer.cc.itu.edu.tr>
Subject: UNIV./XEROX RESEARCH MAY BE STEP TOWARD QUANTUM COMPUTING (fwd)

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UNIV./XEROX RESEARCH MAY BE STEP TOWARD QUANTUM COMPUTING            
SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING NEWS                                          
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  Webster, N.Y. -- A scientific development that has the potential to
eventually enable computer calculations significantly faster than current
technology allows was announced by researchers at City College of New York,
the University of Barcelona, Spain and Xerox Corporation. Researchers said
the discovery could also yield computer memory 100,000 times as dense as that
used today, possibly representing the ultimate limit for information storage.

  "To our knowledge, the discovery provides what could be a key element in
the actual making of a "Quantum Computer" -- a radically new, but still
theoretical computing technology," said Ronald F. Ziolo, a chemist with
Xerox Corporation's Wilson Center for Research and Technology located here.
The research team consisted of physicists Jonathan R. Friedman and Myriam
P. Sarachik of City College, Javier Tejada of Barcelona and Ziolo.

  The heart of the team's discovery concerns the behavior of a tiny magnet,
one molecule in size, created from a special combination of manganese,
oxygen, carbon and hydrogen. If scientists can devise a technology to read
and write from the tiny magnet, it would create the basis for a data storage
unit one molecule in size. Currently, magnetic storage units require
billions of molecules.

  The material used for these experiments is a crystalline substance that
consists of cluster-like structures of twelve manganese and twelve oxygen
atoms surrounded by chemical groups found in ordinary vinegar. Because the
Mn12O12 "clusters" are the size of a typical molecule, the possible
implications for data storage density are immense. Using magnets the size
of molecules, it is theoretically possible to store hundreds of gigabytes
of data in an area no larger than the head of a pin, the team said.

  The new physical phenomenon, called "Quantum Magnetic Hysteresis," results
when quantum mechanical "tunneling" occurs in the magnet. "This finding
unequivocally demonstrates quantum mechanical tunneling of magnetism," said
Tejada and Ziolo -- a phenomenon which was theoretically predicted nearly a
decade ago and has been sought by experimentalists ever since.

  According to members of the research team, the newly discovered phenomenon
and molecular magnet could be considered initial steps toward the realization
of the quantum computer -- a revolutionary, but still theoretical mode of
computing -- that would process calculations at enormous speeds and in a
manner much like the complicated processing functions in the human brain.

  While the possibility of "quantum computing" has only been proven
mathematically, a key factor in the creation of a quantum computer would be
a material that demonstrates the phenomenon of "quantum superposition,"
where each memory unit in a quantum computer represents a "yes" and a "no"
state simultaneously. By applying strong magnetic fields, the team observed
the ability to control the quantum mechanical tunneling rate between the
"yes" and "no" states, making the material a potential candidate for a key
element of quantum computers.

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