New type of supercomputer could be based on 'magic dust'

[SOUL-DRIFTER]

I prefer Demon Dust myself, but the Magic stuff will do.

A team of researchers from the UK and Russia have successfully demonstrated that a type of 'magic dust' which combines light and matter can be used to solve complex problems and could eventually surpass the capabilities of even the most powerful supercomputers.
The researchers, from Cambridge, Southampton and Cardiff Universities in the UK and the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology in Russia, have used quantum particles known as polaritons - which are half light and half matter - to act as a type of 'beacon' showing the way to the simplest solution to complex problems. This entirely new design could form the basis of a new type of computer that can solve problems that are currently unsolvable, in diverse fields such as biology, finance or space travel. The results are reported in the journal Nature Materials.

Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2017-09-supercomputer-based-magic-combination.html#jCp

 

[nivek]

There's much research it seems being conducted over these polaritons...

Polaritons
Polaritons are hybrid particles made up of a photon strongly coupled to an electric dipole. Examples of such a dipole include an electron–hole pair in a semiconductor, which forms an exciton polariton, and the oscillating electrons at the surface of a metal, which creates a surface-plasmon polariton.

Polaritons - Latest research and news | Nature

In physics, polaritons are quasiparticles resulting from strong coupling of electromagnetic waves with an electric or magnetic dipole-carrying excitation. They are an expression of the common quantum phenomenon known as level repulsion, also known as the avoided crossing principle.

Polariton