Tip of a very big iceberg - - - Shor’s algorithm predicted that a quantum computer could find all the prime factors of a given integer and it could do it far faster than a classical computer ever could. Over night the encryption method for banking systems, online shopping and myriad other code-based networks, became immensely vulnerable. The fact that it was impossible to factor large numbers in this way now stood in doubt. “Suddenly the attention came to the NSA (National Security Agency),” recalls LaFlamme. “And then they started to say, ‘Is that really true? Is that guy Peter Shor a crank or is he a real scientist?’” If all the encryption the intelligence agency has been using will now be in jeopardy, he says, they want to know when it will happen – when a functioning quantum computer will be built.... Quantum computing: The next information revolution | AAAS MemberCentral membercentral.aaas.org Curiosity drives humanity. When confronted with a new phenomenon, we are compelled to search for understanding. We can then control the science with new technologies, making life easier. This, says AAAS fellow Raymond Laflamme, grants us time to be curious.
Posted on: Wed, 03 Jul 2013 01:27:31 +0000