Quantum computation remains an enormously appealing but elusive goal. It is appealing because of its potential to perform superfast algorithms, such as finding prime factors in polynomial time, but also elusive because of the difficulty of simultaneously manipulating quantum degrees of freedom while preventing environmentally induced decoherence. A new approach to quantum computing is introduced based on the use of multiple-pulse resonance techniques to manipulate the small deviation from equilibrium of the density matrix of a macroscopic ensemble so that it appears to be the density matrix of a much lower dimensional pure state. A complete prescription for quantum computing is given for such a system.

Modern cryptographic practice rests on the use of one-way functions, which are easy to evaluate but difficult to invert. Unfortunately, commonly used one-way functions are either based on unproven conjectures or have known vulnerabilities. We show that instead of relying on number theory, the mesoscopic physics of coherent transport through a disordered medium can be used to allocate and authenticate unique identifiers by physically reducing the medium's microstructure to a fixed-length string of binary digits. These physical one-way functions are inexpensive to fabricate, prohibitively difficult to duplicate, admit no compact mathematical representation, and are intrinsically tamper-resistant. We provide an authentication protocol based on the enormous address space that is a principal characteristic of physical one-way functions.

Using nuclear magnetic resonance techniques with a solution of chloroform molecules we implement Grover's search algorithm for a system with four states. By performing a tomographic reconstruction of the density matrix during the computation good agreement is seen between theory and experiment. This provides the first complete experimental demonstration of loading an initial state into a quantum computer, performing a computation requiring fewer steps than on a classical computer, and then reading out the final state. [S0031-9007(98)05850-5]

We demonstrate universal computation in an all-fluidic two-phase microfluidic system. Nonlinearity is introduced into an otherwise linear, reversible, low–Reynolds number flow via bubble-to-bubble hydrodynamic interactions. A bubble traveling in a channel represents a bit, providing us with the capability to simultaneously transport materials and perform logical control operations. We demonstrate bubble logic AND/OR/NOT gates, a toggle flip-flop, a ripple counter, timing restoration, a ring oscillator, and an electro–bubble modulator. These show the nonlinearity, gain, bistability, synchronization, cascadability, feedback, and programmability required for scalable universal computation. With increasing complexity in large-scale microfluidic processors, bubble logic provides an on-chip process control mechanism integrating chemistry and computation.