The next generation of computers promises far greater power
and faster processing speeds than today's silicon-based based machines. These
"quantum computers" — so called because they would harness the unique
quantum mechanical properties of atomic particles — could draw their computing
power from a collection of super-cooled molecules.
But chilling molecules to a fraction of a degree above
absolute zero, the temperature at which they can be manipulated to store and
transmit data, has proven to be a difficult challenge for scientists.
Now, UCLA physicists have pioneered a new technique that
combines two traditional atomic cooling technologies and brings normally
springy molecules to a frozen standstill. Their research is published March 28
in the journal Nature.