Air Force Study Shows Potential, Limits of Quantum Tech

Quality science coverage! It came as a shock to me that the USAF didn't use transistors or leds!

Wait, was that the wrong sort of quantum? Well, then I also am surprised that they are only just now thinking of exploring superconductors, although I guess that too is the wrong sort of quantum. And lasers, and laser optics, I guess those are also not quite quantum enough to be covered in a study about quantum tech...

Good thing they at least discovered that quantum computing is still not something you do with more bits than you have fingers, and that quantum encryption turned out to be like regular encryption: hard to get right.

The name of the expert quoted in the briefing, Werner Dahm (https://www.aiaa.org/Secondary.aspx?id=15445), rung a bell.

He seems to be the son of an earlier Werner Dahm, the one who helped develop the Saturn V rocket, and who was before that the youngest of Wernher von Braun's team at Peenemunde.

I think there are a few more areas that need to be figured out before the "big bang" of quantum, things like HTS for example but it's obvious huge inroads have already been made (ie, http://www.wired.com/2012/02/ibm-quantum-milestone/) but the part that bugs me about this article is the fact that it is a "highly redacted report that won't be available until January" ... who does that help? Would you even want anyone outside the US to know any of this ... if something under those redacted lines is amazing (in the computational sense), I am sure it is in the best interest to hide it for a while.

Almost all the people I know who are doing pure physics are studying quantum computing.

I am not sure if its hype or the professors actually think its going to really viable soon - In any case I am not sure why there is a shortage of funding !

I do not see why we cannot fund both the software side and hardware side. Research in quantum computing is cheap, unlike building new rockets, or building particle accelerators like the European.

WTF does "quantum capabilities" mean?

omg.. it took a govt study to come to the conclusion that quantum technologies aren't ready for prime time..?