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Quantum Computers?


Gryphon
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Every once in a while I catch a news item that seems like one of those things that should throw society off its rocker...a while back it was the discovery of a 10th planet in our solar system...the news talked about it for all of a minute and suddenly no more is said.

Here's something else I think falls into the same vein:

http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4...hkpt=zdhpnews01

Amazing, isn't it? Unfortunetly, we'll probably never hear about this again until 18 years from now, when IBM announces plans to build servers with Quantum technology.

Aw well. C'est la vie smile.gif

Erik

(AFTER POST EDIT: Err, want to clear something up here: I have no idea whether or not there's a 10th planet in SOL...since I'm not seeing it in Encarta 2001, I'm going to blindly believe it doesn't exist smile.gif)

[This message has been edited by Gryphon (edited 08-17-2000).]

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This article mentions the "planet" you're remembering. The whole thing was down graded to a Kupier Belt Object, if memory serves, and so much less news worthy.

As to a computer using five atoms for processor and memory, wow!

------------------

Randolf Carter

Commander - UCV Kadath

[This message has been edited by Tyrn (edited 08-17-2000).]

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Actually, some planetologists feel that Pluto and it's "moon" Charon are both nothing more than extra large Kuiper Belt Objects. So not only isn't there a tenth planet, some would say there isn't even a ninth!

As with most things in the natural world, there isn't a sharp demarcation. Whether a celestial body is termed a planet or not is largely a matter of us humans trying to classify things that defy classification.

--milo

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quote:

Originally posted by milod:

Actually, some planetologists feel that Pluto and it's "moon" Charon are both nothing more than extra large Kuiper Belt Objects. So not only isn't there a tenth planet, some would say there isn't even a ninth!

You are refering, of course to the IAU's question of whether Pluto is a Major planet, a Minor planet or should be numbered as a Trans-Neptunian object.

see this article.

Common consensus leans toward making Ceres the boundary between planets and non-planets.

Also see this which contains a quote from Brian Marsden, head of IAU's Minor Planet Center, which is:

quote:

There is no plan to 'downgrade' or 'demote' Pluto. It will stay as a planet.

------------------

Randolf Carter

Commander - UCV Kadath

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Pluto and Charon are twin planets is what I was tought in Astronomy. They rotate each other and are about the same size, so what the heck? smile.gif"><P>WanAnd that quantum computer.. WOW! Gimme!

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