
Researchers find a way to keep quantum memory and logic in synch - llambda
http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2012/04/pushing-two-diamond-swings-to-make-a-better-quantum-logic-gate.ars
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martinkallstrom
That sure is an impressive-looking device. The copper wires go very well with
the green glow.

It is interesting to think about how devices that exist in very few instances
also have very specific usages. Devices that are mass-produced tend to cater
to a lot of different usages. When you come to the devices manufactured in
hundreds of millions of units, they generally can be useful in a wide range of
situations.

According to the image description, this device is "used to study the nitrogen
vacancies in diamonds." I can't imagine it being mass-produced, since there
are not a lot of different situations where this would come handy.

It doesn't even seem to have a name, or it would have been stated. A device
not having a name is a sure sign that it only exist in a few instances. As
soon as it is mass-produced, it will be named.

I'm thinking of you, Geiger-Müller-meter. Which can be handy in a lot of
different situations, like in a science lab or if you are ever volunteering to
help cleaning up after japanese natural disasters. Which is probably why it is
mass-produced. Still, if it were manufactured in the hundreds of millions, it
would probably get multi-functional AND have a name that is easier to
pronounce and spell.

My 2c.

