Lab Manager Magazine®

Click Here for your free Subscription

Search:

Sign In or Register

Advertisement

Unity Lab Services

LabManager »

Home »

Laboratory News »

Industry News

Artificial intelligence Used to Tackle Quantum-World Problem

By Mark Lowey - University of Calgary News Office | July 5 2013

Advertisement

Thermo Scientific

Is it possible to measure something very precisely – an atomic clock driven by oscillating electrons, for example – when we live in a quantum world of uncertainty?

University of Calgary physicist Barry Sanders and his research team employed artificial intelligence to devise a strategy that avoids limits of measurement imposed by the quantum world.

“The main ‘message’ in my work is that artificial intelligence methods work for quantum-related problems and work very well,” says Sanders, professor of Physics and Astronomy, iCORE Chair of Quantum Information Science, and director of the university’s Institute for Quantum Science and Technology.

He and his research team, which included post-doctoral researcher Neil Lovett and European undergraduate students Cécile Crosnier and Martí Perarnau-Llobet, had their new approach published as the cover story in Physical Review Letters, a top-ranked physics journal.

Search for measurement certainty

Quantum physics is a branch of science that deals with discrete, indivisible units of energy called “quanta” as described by the Quantum Theory.

Barry Sanders. Photo courtesy of the University of Calgary

We live in a quantum world. Or, as Sanders puts it: “The universe is quantum.”

His team’s new paper involves “metrology,” the science of measurement. More specifically, the work involves quantum metrology: making the best use of quantum properties to measure things as precisely as possible, and to surpass the quantum limit imposed by the “uncertainty principle.”

This principle says that in the quantum world, it is impossible to measure both the momentum and the position of a particle perfectly precisely. So there is a limit or an uncertainty to measurement.

Artificial intelligence provides way around human limitation

To “beat the limit,” Sanders and his team used an approach called adaptive quantum metrology. The challenge is that this approach requires measurement, feedback and control sequences that are beyond human ability to devise.

The team turned to artificial intelligence for a solution. Using western Canada’s WestGrid supercomputer system, they ‘taught’ the machine how to use each measurement of a particle in order to measure the next particle, and to adapt this succession of measurements to be “infinitely precise.”

This “reinforcement learning” method is similar to how a computer learns to play chess, Sanders explains. “Each time it plays, it is effectively rewarded or punished, depending on whether it wins or loses. And it then gets better and better.”

Laying the groundwork for later discoveries

The work may lead to ultra-precise atomic clocks, extremely accurate Global Positioning System instruments or a way to measure “gravitational waves” – ripples in the curvature of spacetime for which there’s indirect evidence but which have yet to be detected.

“This research will matter down the road,” Sanders says. “As usual in physics (the discovery of the laser, for example), the most important implications are unforeseeable.”

Categories

Industry News

1
inShare

Add a Comment

You

Processing...

Sign In with your LabX Media Group Passport to leave a comment

Not a member? Register Now!

Related Articles

Training Intelligent Systems to Think on Their Own

By Lehigh University

The computing devices and software programs that enable the technology on which the modern world relies, says Hector Muñoz-Avila, can be likened to adolescents.

Beyond Silicon: Transistors without Semiconductors

By Marcia Goodrich - Michigan Technological University News Office

For decades, electronic devices have been getting smaller, and smaller, and smaller. It’s now possible—even routine—to place millions of transistors on a single silicon chip. But transistors based on semiconductors can only get so small.

Researchers Report First Entanglement between Light and an Optical Atomic Coherence

By Georgia Institute of Technology

Using clouds of ultra-cold atoms and a pair of lasers operating at optical wavelengths, researchers have reached a quantum network milestone: entangling light with an optical atomic coherence composed of interacting atoms in two different states. The development could help pave the way for functional, multi-node quantum networks.

Advertisement

IKA Works

Visit LabX for New and Used Laboratory Equipment

HPLC Systems;
GC Systems;
Analytical Balances

Vacuum Pumps;
Pipettes;
Lab Supplies

Buy and Sell Today!

www.labx.com

Get Help with Your Lab Equipment

?or help others.

Build your Lab Bench and get notifications and updates for the lab equipment you own!

www.labwrench.com

Related Articles

Laboratory News

Training Intelligent Systems to Think on Their Own

Beyond Silicon: Transistors without Semiconductors

Researchers Report First Entanglement between Light and an Optical Atomic Coherence

See All Laboratory News

Advertisement

Molecular Devices, LLC

Subscribe to the Magazine

Click Here for your free subscription to Lab Manager Magazine®

E Newsletters

Click Here to subscribe to any of the following Lab Manager Magazine® E Newsletters

Lab Manager Magazine Weekly Monitor

New Product Alerts

eAnalytical Monthly

eLifeScience Monthly

eLab Equipment Monthly

Product Surveys and Event Promotions

Events and Webinars

Sign Up for Newsletters

Lab Video

Advertisement

See All Lab Videos

Advertisement

IIR USA

Page Generated: July 6 2013

Navigation Menu

Home

Lab Manager Magazine®

Lab Manager Magazine Homepage

About Us

Advertising

Submit an Article

Lab Management Careers

RSS Feeds

Blogs

Lab Videos

Laboratory News

Special Reports

See All Home Articles

Subscribe to Lab Manager Magazine

Manage Your Subscription to Lab Manager Magazine & Newsletters

Subscribe to Lab Manager E Newsletters

close

Magazine

Calculating Workplace Tragedy

Free Subscription

Table of Contents

Past Issues

Editorial Submissions

RSS Feeds

About the Authors

Manage Your Subscription

Herding Cats

July 2013

PDF
View

Is Your Message Getting Lost in the Sauce?

May 2013

PDF Online
View

Going Greener

April 2013

PDF Online
View

Steady As She Goes

March 2013

PDF Online
View

close

Lab Management

Lab Management

Computing & Automation

Lab Design and Furnishings

Leadership and Staffing

Management

Management Tips

Technology

See All Lab Management Articles

Management Tips

Companies Look at Wrong Things When Using Facebook to Screen Job Applicants

July 2 2013

Employers are increasingly using Facebook to screen job applicants and weed out candidates they think have undesirable traits. But a new study from No...

read more

Unattractive Workers Suffer More

June 25 2013

People who are considered unattractive are more likely to be belittled and bullied in the workplace, according to a first-of-its-kind study led by a M...

read more

Improving Overall Employee Wellness Could Yield Multiple Benefits

June 24 2013

Controlling health care costs is crucial for Iowa manufacturers to remain competitive. But a big question for many companies is whether investing in a...

read more

close

Lab Products

Lab Products

How It Works

Lab Product News

Lab Product Resources

Product Application News

Purchasing Guides

Surveys

2012 Product Resource Guide

See All Lab Products Articles

Lab Product Resources

Balances

Baths and Chillers

Biological Safety Cabinets

Centrifuges

Chemical Inventory Management

Clean Rooms

ELN

Evaporators

Freezers and Fridges

Fume Hoods

Gas Chromatography Systems

Glove Boxes

Homogenizers

HPLC Columns

HPLC Systems

Incubators

Infrared

Ion Chromatography

Lab Ovens

Lab Washers

LC-MS Systems

LIMS

Liquid Handling

Mass Spectrometers

Microplate Technology

Microscopy

Microwave Digestion

Mills and Grinders

MSDS Management

Particle Sizing

pH Meters

Pipettes

Power Supplies

Reagents and Chemicals

Sample Preparation

Spectrophotometers

Stirrers and Shakers

Titrators

TOC Analyzers

UHPLC Systems

Vacuum Pumps

Viscometers

Water Purification Systems

close

Lab Health & Safety

Lab Health & Safety

Safety Tips

See All Lab Health & Safety Articles

Safety Tips

Involve Every Staff Member in Some Aspect of the Safety Program

June 12 2013

There’s a tendency to think that if someone is appointed safety coordinator, they have to do all the work for the rest of us. False! A coordinat...

read more

Encourage Caring About One’s Health and Safety

May 8 2013

Employees, faculty, staff, and students need to be encouraged
to develop a genuine concern about their own health and
safety. It’s too easy to care ...

read more

Develop a Safety Orientation Program

April 8 2013

All new employees, students, faculty, and staff should receive

a specially designed introduction to your safety program....

read more

close

Webinars & Events

Events

Upcoming Events

Webinar: Radical Resilience

from: July 10 2013 13:00 to 14:00

Radically turbulent times demand professional and ...

Webinar: Strategies and Tools for Your Environmental Lab

from: July 11 2013 12:00 to 13:30

Join Lab Manager’s free, informatio...

2013 AOCS Technical Services Workshop: Laboratory Methods

from: July 16 2013 to July 17 2013

This inaugural AOCS Technical Services workshop...

See Upcoming Events

close

Site Footer

Lab Manager Magazine®

Calculating Workplace Tragedy

June 2013

Free Subscription

Table of Contents

Past Issues

Editorial Submission

RSS Feeds

About the Authors

Manage Your Subscription

Home

Blogs

Lab Videos

Laboratory News

Special Reports

Lab Management Careers

Lab Health & Safety

Safety Tips

Lab Management

Computing & Automation

Lab Design and Furnishings

Leadership and Staffing

Management

Management Tips

Technology

Lab Products

How It Works

Lab Product News

Lab Product Resources

Product Application News

Purchasing Guides

Surveys

Product Resource Guide

About Us

Contact Us

Advertising

Sign In or Register

Labx Media Group

©2013 Lab Manager Magazine®

a division of LabX

All Rights Reserved

Terms Of Use | Privacy Policy

Advertisement