Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

There are chemical processes, most notably photochemical processes like photosynthesis, that funnel molecular states into new configurations so rapidly, that observation of the details of the reaction is impossible. This research simulated one class of such reactions (conical intersection reactions) by modeling the wave function that governs the time evolution of the reaction using a quantum computer, allowing them to run the reaction 100B times slower than occurs in nature, and to measure the quantum state evolution. They are thus able to get a clear picture of how the reaction proceeds, as measured by several different observables, from the simulation.

It's a direct demonstration of the utility of quantum computation in molecular modeling. The meta-relevance, to me at least, is that it demonstrates real progress in one of the areas where quantum computation is most likely to have an important impact.




Thank you, this is helpful.




Join us for AI Startup School this June 16-17 in San Francisco!

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: