量子计算机是如何工作的？

本文翻译自 http://computer.howstuffworks.com/quantum-computer.htm

The massive amount of processing power generated by computer manufacturers has not yet been able to quench our thirst for speed and computing capacity. In 1947, American computer engineer Howard Aikensaid that just six electronic digital computers would satisfy the computing needs of the United States. Others have made similar errant predictions about the amount of computing power that would support our growing technological needs. Of course, Aiken didn't count on the large amounts of data generated by scientific research, the proliferation of personal computers or the emergence of the Internet, which have only fueled our need for more, more and more computing power.
由计算机制造商带来的巨大的处理能力并没有让我们对速度和计算能力的渴望停止。1947年，美国的计算机工程师Howard Aiken曾说过仅仅六台电子数字计算机就能够满足整个美国的需要。其他人有过类似的仅几台计算机就能满足日益增长的科学技术的需要的偏离实际的看法。当然，Aiken的估计没有考虑到由科学研究产生的巨量数据、个人计算机的剧增或是因特网的出现——这些的出现让我们需要更多，更多，更多的计算能力。

Will we ever have the amount of computing power we need or want? If, asMoore's Law states, the number of transistors on a microprocessor continues to double every 18 months, the year 2020 or 2030 will find the circuits on a microprocessor measured on an atomic scale. And the logical next step will be to create quantum computers, which will harness the power of atoms and molecules to perform memory and processing tasks. Quantum computers have the potential to perform certain calculations significantly faster than any silicon-based computer.
我们能够永远得到我们需要或想要的计算能力吗？如果像摩尔定律所说的那样，微处理器的晶体管数目每18个月翻一番，到2020年或2030年微处理器上的电路将会达到原子大小，所以合乎逻辑的下一步将是制造利用原子和分子的力量实现存储和计算的量子计算机。量子计算机有比基于硅的传统计算机在计算能力方面强得多的潜力。
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本文翻译自新科学家http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn24759-china-lands-on-moon-kicks-off-next-lunar-space-race.html#.UrG_R10W0Zg

China lands on moon, kicks off next lunar space race
中国着陆月球——开启下一个月球探测竞赛

Let the modern moon rush begin. China has successfully placed a lander and rover on the lunar surface, the first time any nation has touched down there in almost four decades.
China's first moon landing, which took place on Saturday afternoon (GMT) marks the rekindling of humanity's love affair with our only natural satellite. About a dozen robotic landers and rovers are on the drawing board for launch between now and 2020, many from burgeoning space powers or private ventures that would also be making their first attempts.
让现代的月球探测竞争开始吧。中国已经成功地将着陆器和探测车送上了月球表面，这是几乎40年来世界上首次登录月球表面。中国的第一次登陆月球发生在星期六下午（GMT），标志着重新点燃了人类对自己唯一的天然卫星的探索激情。从现在到2020年将大约有12个着陆器和探测车登陆，其中大部分来自空间技术急速增长的国家或私人企业，这也或许是他们的首次尝试。

This flotilla of 21st-century moon explorers should arrive bristling with technologies that will help them map the moon's uncharted regions and prospect for resources that could one day sustain lunar outposts and missions further afield.
这支21世纪的月球探测大军应该大力发展那些将会帮助他们填补月球地图的空白和勘探有朝一日能支持月球前哨基地和远距离任务的能源的科技。

Space island
宇宙中的小岛

The crew of the final Apollo mission lifted off from the moon's Sea of Serenity on 14 December 1972. After that, three robotic Soviet spacecraft made it to the surface, the final one in 1976. For the next few decades, the moon's only visitors were a dozen or so orbiters and deliberate crashes, such as NASA's LCROSS mission in 2009, which created plumes of dust for analysis by orbiters.
阿波罗最后一次任务的机组人员于1972年12月14号在月球静谧海起飞。在那之后，三个苏联的太空飞船着陆月球，最后一个是在1976年。在接下来的几十年中，月球唯一的拜访者就是数量巨大的环绕探测器和撞击探测器，例如美国宇航局2009年的LCROSS任务，它撞击产生了大量的尘埃用于轨道飞行器的分析。
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本文翻译自http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/the-curious-wavefunction/2013/11/01/are-physicists-individualists-or-collectivists/ 权当练习翻译。真累。

Ricardo Heras has a well-written and thought provoking essay in Physics Today in which he asks whether physicists should be individualists or collectivists. He draws from the history of science and largely concludes that individualism is necessary for bold, creative ideas. In response Chad Orzel points out that many of the individualistic physicists that Ricardo noted were actually collectivists to some degree, even though the nature of their collaborations has not been well acknowledged.

Ricardo Heras 在今日物理杂志发表了一篇很出色并引起了激烈讨论的文章。在文章中他问道物理学家应该是个人主义者还是集体主义者。他从科学史中大致得出了个人主义是产生伟大的有创意的思想的必要条件的结论。做为回应，Chad Orzel指出Ricardo所说的个人主义物理学家事实上某种程度上是集体主义者，即使他们合作的方法并不广为人知。

I prefer to tread a middle path in looking at these possibilities. There is no doubt that individualism – best exemplified by Feynman and Dirac in physics – can lead one to novel insights. But there’s no dearth of cases where it has also led to misleading ideas, even ones which are regarded as downright loopy. A good example is that of amateur physicist Jim Carter whose quest for an alternative fundamental theory of physics has been documented by Margaret Wertheim in her book “Physics on the Fringe“. Another individualist was Ernst Mach who refused to believe in the reality of atoms until his death. There is no doubt that many great physicists succeeded from their individualistic and independent attitude in physics, but it’s also true that we tend to register hits much more than misses when it comes to attributing success in science to specific traits.
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