From Cloud to Code: The Physics of Modern Tech

Richard Feynman remarked in 1965: "I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics." At the time, quantum theory mostly existed as mind-bending thought experiments. A lot has changed over the subsequent 60 years, but it's safe to say we now do understand a lot about quantum mechanics - enough to build a novel type of computer, a quantum one. I will attempt to explain: how a quantum computer works, why we want them, why it's such a hard task, what we could build them out of, and how Durham fits into the national quantum computing strategy in the UK.

We humans love to store information! But, when you post your latest thoughts and witticisms to your favourite social media, or when you save those fab photographs onto your hosting site, have you ever stopped to think about where that information is actually going? Where is it being stored and how is it is being stored? In this talk, I’ll briefly outline where your information is really going and some of the physics of information storage in cloud computing; there will be electrons and there will be magnetism!