Quantum software company tackles big computing challenges

11/26/20 • 38 min

“My mission is to demystify quantum computing,” says Ilyas Khan, who is founder and chief executive of Cambridge Quantum Computing (CQC) – a UK-based provider of software for quantum computers. Khan is our guest in this episode of the Physics World Weekly podcast, and he explains how CQC helps its clients use quantum computers to solve big problems in the design of pharmaceuticals, machine learning and cybersecurity.

Later in the programme, Physics World editors talk about what is new in physics this week, including how to make a Bose–Einstein condensate using perovskite excitons; a new way of tackling tumours using immunotherapy and a beam of carbon ions; and clever ways of using spin impurities as quantum bits.

This podcast is sponsored by Teledyne Princeton Instruments.

This podcast is sponsored by Teledyne Princeton Instruments.

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Hunting dark matter with quantum sensors, working abroad brings career advantages

Dark-matter detectors usually conjure up images of large underground facilities, but relatively small quantum sensors such as atomic clocks and magnetometers have also joined the search for the elusive stuff. In this episode of the Physics World Weekly podcast, Andrei Derevianko at the University of Nevada, Reno explains how it is done.

We are also joined this week by Physics World columnist Caitlin Duffy, who is doing a PhD on superconductivity at the High Field Magnetic Laboratory in the Netherlands. Duffy talks about the benefits of moving country to pursue career opportunities and the professional and personal challenges of working abroad during the pandemic.

Finally, Physics World editors chat about the medical benefits of focused ultrasound and a new way of creating materials for twistronics.

This podcast is sponsored by Oxford Instruments NanoScience.

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undefined - A passion for nanotechnology in medicine: Black in Nanotech Week cofounder Olivia Geneus on inspiring the next generation of nanoscientists

A passion for nanotechnology in medicine: Black in Nanotech Week cofounder Olivia Geneus on inspiring the next generation of nanoscientists

The second week in December is Black in Nanotech Week and its co-founder Olivia Geneus is our guest in this episode of the Physics World Weekly podcast. Geneus talks to Margaret Harris about her interest in using nanotechnology to develop new ways of treating cancer, and about the need to highlight the accomplishments of Black scientists in the field of nanotechnology and inspire the next generation of nanoscientists.

We love a quiz here at Physics World, so to celebrate this week’s Materials Research Society Virtual Meeting and Exhibit we have put together a quiz about songs and bands with materials in their titles or lyrics. In the podcast, quizmaster Matin Durrani tests the musical knowledge of Tom Miller, who runs several materials-related journals at IOP Publishing.

This week we learned that the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico has been destroyed as its metal platform collapsed onto its reflecting dish. We chat about the sad demise of this iconic radio telescope and its effect on Puerto Rico and the astronomy community.