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Posted by: Tashiro Feb 22 2013, 04:38 PM

It looks like we might be getting http://news.discovery.com/tech/gear-and-gadgets/quantum-computer-log-onto-quantum-internet-130222.htm#mkcpgn=rssnws1 in under a decade. I'm wondering, do the computers in Shadowrun run on quantum mechanics? It would explain how fast some of these things go, and how much information can be processed in real-time.

Posted by: hermit Feb 22 2013, 04:51 PM

Quantum computers are like nuclear fusion: always just 10 years away.

Posted by: Epicedion Feb 22 2013, 06:10 PM

We already have them, and we don't, simultaneously.

Posted by: hermit Feb 22 2013, 06:13 PM

They're built by Schroedinger Systems?

Posted by: Dakka Fiend Feb 22 2013, 06:14 PM

Or not.

Joking aside, in a sense we already have quantum computers - no modern cpu would work if quantum effects weren't considered in its design. And in a sense we won't have them for a while - iterating over individual operations at GHz speeds is still gonna by way faster for many years than doing several operations at once with a handful of qubits at a snail's pace.

Posted by: O'Ryan Feb 22 2013, 06:30 PM

Ha!

Posted by: JanessaVR Feb 23 2013, 01:47 AM

As one of the few persons currently on the planet Earth to literally own Schrödinger’s Cat, you'd think I would have stock in such a company.

Posted by: bannockburn Feb 23 2013, 01:55 AM

You literally have a cat in a box with a poison capsule? PETA would like a word with you

(Sorry, pet peeve ^^)

Posted by: O'Ryan Feb 23 2013, 02:07 AM

That would also be figuratively! Literally would be the remains of the animal once owned by Erwin Schroedinger, presumably (but not explicitly!) the one from the hypothetical experiment.


PS. Schroedinger Systems is now a AA corp in my games devoted to just this idea. They have a small, but notable, animal rights division.

Posted by: Halinn Feb 23 2013, 02:17 AM

A more plausible literal explanation is that she(?) is named Schrödinger, and owns a cat (or more likely, is owned by said cat )

Posted by: JanessaVR Feb 23 2013, 02:20 AM

Pretty close.

On March 2nd, 2012, I hopped on a plane with my kitty, Ninja, to Detroit and from there drove to Clinton Township. Less than a mile from Cryonics Institute, he was euthanized, promptly put in a chest of ice water, driven to the CI facility, perfused with cryoprotectants, and then placed in a cooler to be brought down to liquid nitrogen temperatures over the course of 24 hours and then transferred to a large tank of liquid nitrogen; textbook-perfect cryostasis procedures for optimal preservation, especially of the brain.

In his current condition, he cannot be said to be alive, but neither is he irretrievably dead – that determination rests on the uncertain future development of mature medical nanotechnology.

Having done some research, I am (or was, a year ago) apparently the second person to have gone to the trouble of immediate cryoprotectant perfusion for their cat prior to prompt cryostasis; most pets are shipped on dry ice to either Alcor or CI after death, rendering such precautions impossible and resulting in possibly considerably less quality of preservation.

So, as I see it, there are 2 people in the history of the planet who have a decent claim to literally owning Schrödinger’s Cat, and I’m one of them. For what it’s worth…

Posted by: CanRay Feb 23 2013, 02:48 AM

I have Schrödinger’s Broken Arm.

Posted by: Tashiro Feb 23 2013, 05:41 AM

I don't know whether to be horrified that you've done this to your cat, or in awe of your dedication to your cat.
I just had to put one of my cats down two weeks ago, and I'm still not quite over that... so... yeah.
But, wow...

Posted by: JanessaVR Feb 23 2013, 06:46 AM

Well, I wouldn't be horrified - it was the only thing I could do to save his life as he was dying of cancer. It was either say goodbye forever or say goodbye for decades at the very least. And it's no more than I have planned for myself as I will rest right beside him one day, in the same cryostat; I tell my friends that in half a century or so I'll be "chilling out in Michigan for a few years."

And yes, it was certainly dedication - I had to come up with over $6k in cash on short notice, all expenses considered. He was my little boy, my everything to me for nearly 17 years. And if it was conceivably possible, I was going to save him - I just finished paying back a partial loan for the whole affair and have no regrets over having had to do so as it was certainly worth it.

In the Sixth World as presented, they're arguably at the point where revival is possible, though of course they can cheat with a bit of magical assistance if needed.

Posted by: bannockburn Feb 23 2013, 10:33 AM

Okay. Now I feel in equal parts stupid, horrified and impressed

Posted by: JanessaVR Feb 23 2013, 11:50 AM

I'm honestly not sure why anyone is "horrified" about cryonics. Better to at least try to preserve life - at least that's my perspective on it. I had a chance to at least potentially save a loved one's life - I took it.

Posted by: Irion Feb 23 2013, 05:55 PM

First of all, from the first "prototype" to something which overpasses the "old" tech. Well, that can be a long way.

Solar Pannels are around for quite some time (around 80 years) and still they are mostly less effient than just "burning stuff"...(But of course the "potential" to produce energy from just beeing there...)

So yes, the potential of quantum computers would be enormous. But you have to consider, that the potential of todays computers needed also several decades to be reached AFTER the first transistor was constructed.