Drop that puck!

Hockey is back! The NHL has changed some rules to allow more offense and a faster more European/Olympic style game. I think this will be good for the game.

New NHL rules coutesy of EA Sports

New rules videos

Let's go Flyers, let's go- clap-clap-clap.

Remain in Light

A very interesting development as reported by Wired Magazine:

This Laser Trick's a Quantum Leap

By John Huds

Physicists in Australia have slowed a speeding laser pulse and captured it in a crystal, a feat that could be instrumental in creating quantum computers.
The scientists slowed the laser light pulse from 300,000 kilometers per second to just several hundred meters per second, allowing them to capture the pulse for about a second
The accomplishment marks a new world record, but the scientists are more thrilled that they were able to store and recall light, an important step toward quantum computing.

"What we've done here is create a quantum memory," said Dr. Matthew Sellars of the Laser Physics Centre at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia.

Slowing down light allows scientists to map information onto it. The information is then transferred from the light to the crystal, Sellars said. Then when the scientists release the light, the information is transferred back onto the beam.

"Digital information can be expressed with pulses of light," Sellars said. "If we can store the light pulses for a very long time, we have a memory that operates on a quantum scale."

To slow down the light, the researchers used a silicate crystal doped with a rare-earth element called praseodymium. Laser light pulses fired at the crystal are normally absorbed and don't pass through, Sellars said. But when a secondary laser was directed at the crystal, it became transparent, allowing light from the first laser to move through.

To store the light, the secondary laser was switched off, so the original light pulse was trapped. The secondary laser was directed onto the crystal once again to release the pulse.

Scientists can map information onto light beams using photons, which, like all elementary particles, have "spin." Spin gives them a natural orientation, similar to a compass needle. The spin can be oriented up or down, representing a one or zero. Flipping from up to down has the same effect as switching a tiny transistor on or off.

In the spooky world of quantum mechanics, particles like photons behave in mind-bending fashion, and can actually be oriented up and down simultaneously, until they are observed or measured. This arrangement is known as quantum superposition, and results in a unit of information known as a qubit (quantum bit), instead of the traditional bit.

The processing power of a quantum system -- and it is formidable -- is a direct result of the superposition state. Since the qubit can represent several values at once, a quantum system is exponentially more efficient than its classical counterparts. Just 40 qubits would equal the power of today's supercomputers.

"We're at the borderline from going from a few qubits to many more," said Raymond LaFlamme, director of the Institute for Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. "But from a conceptual point of view, we're learning a new force of nature."

Quantum computers will exploit quantum mechanics to perform complex mathematical operations -- like cracking the most complex codes cryptography can dream up -- at blistering speed.

"The process of decryption and modifying information security will be a large application," said LaFlamme. "Entities such as the National Security Agency are very interested in building a quantum machine."

While acknowledging that quantum technology is still in its infancy, LaFlamme described the success of ANU's quantum memory experiment as "a milestone," and envisions steady progress in the future.

"The 19th century was the Industrial Age," he said. "The 20th century was hailed as the Information Age. I believe the 21st century will be the Quantum Age."

The Spirit of New Orleans.....

...is alive and well. Last Thursday night Lisa and I caught the subdudes (they never capitalize the name, more subdued that way). These guys are one of my favorite bands out of Nawlins and the show rocked! Great venue, the Science Museum of Virginia's Swinging on the Tracks series. SMV used to be the main train station in Richmond and the pavilion is the old boarding area. Lots of old iron awnings with slatted roofs and the sound was incredible. The boys played lots of new songs and some old faves and closed the show with my personal fave, "Sugarpie". After a brief breakup, they reformed in 2002 as the dudes and now have two new guys in the line-up, Johnny Ray Allen the original bass player called it quits. If you are into roots rock you have to check these guys out. New CD coming in January and they have a podcast with lots of live tracks and rarities. You can subscribe with a reader or pick it up on iTunes. You'll be satisfied!