Probabilistic Bits, P-bits; “Poor Man’s Q-bit”
We here at The Qubit Report will always love and hold dear our Q-bits; even if P-bits take over. Because Quantum is Coming. Qubit.
Interdisciplinary research pushes science in new directions
Excerpts and salient points ~
+ Probabilistic bits, commonly known as p-bits, are a new conceptual intermediate between standard computing bits and the q-bits used in quantum computing. Quantum computing is the new frontier of computing, offering the potential (and threat) of making obsolete much of our current cybersecurity and cryptography, but also the potential to help address many of the scientific challenges that exist today. But q-bits are famously difficult to produce, and quantum computers currently must operate at temperatures approaching absolute zero.
Joerg Appenzeller, Purdue’s Barry M. and Patricia L. Epstein Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and scientific director of nanoelectronics in the Birck Nanotechnology Center, has put together a team of researchers to explore a new area that is creating excitement in computer engineering.
+ P-bits, as Purdue’s Supriyo Datta has put it, are “like a poor man’s q-bit.” P-bits can operate at room temperature and hold the potential to allow researchers, such as Appenzellar’s team, to create next-generation computers without requiring the level of complex engineering that quantum computing appears to require.
+ For the 2019 Big Idea Challenge, Discovery Park received 41 proposals from 280 faculty members at Purdue, representing 11 colleges and 57 departments. The proposals were required to align with the major areas of research: global sustainability, global health, digital/quantum/nanoelectronics, and global security and defense innovation. Discovery Park’s inaugural 2017 Big Idea Challenge winning projects have produced to date a 10:1 return on investment from the program’s original investment through grants from various federal and industrial organizations.
Source: Purdue University News. Steve Tally, Interdisciplinary research pushes science in new directions…
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