When you think of finding a side hustle, you might picture yourself finding an obscure job as a bike courier three nights a week or maybe even walking your neighborhood dogs. Both of these positions can be fun and pay extremely well depending on who you work for.

There are endless opportunities for part-time, enjoyable, profitable side hustles. However, if you take on any of the following side gigs, you could end up with a new career.

1. Day trading

Day trading is the purchase and sale of a stock, bond, or security all within the same day. Many entrepreneurs are drawn to day trading because its fast-paced and risky, but with the right skills, day trading presents a potential for serious profit.

If youre curious about day trading, RJO Futures published a guide on how day trading works. RJOs article explains that whether you trade from a large firm or on your own, youll need three tools:

Be aware that if you enjoy day trading and get good, you might want to go full-time. Its possible to turn day trading into a career, but the learning curve is steep.

2. Investing in real estate

Real estate is a lucrative industry, but its not for everyone. Popular among entrepreneurs, investing in real estate requires long hours of study, extensive research, and getting your hands dirty.

Usually, real estate investors have side hustles to supplement their income. However, many people get into real estate as a side hustle and end up turning it into a career.

If you want to get started in real estate, dont jump to investing right away. Take the expert advice from the folks at Bigger Pockets and start by learning about the industry. Get a part-time job as an assistant property manager to pick up industry knowledge and learn your local landlord-tenant laws. If youre going to invest in real estate to rent out, youll be a landlord at least for a short period of time until you hire a property management company.

If you know someone who can help you make your first investment, you dont need to wait. However, to be successful you have to think outside the box to gain a full spectrum of industry experience.

3. Content writing

Every business needs content writers and many are willing to settle for any level of proficiency. If you have any writing skills, you can easily pick up some content writing gigs on job listing sites.

If you love writing, you might start out writing one blog per week and decide you want to pursue writing full-time. If its truly your passion, stick with it and youll find the right clients who will pay you generously for your work.

4. Coaching

Whatever people are struggling with, theres a coach to save the day. Life coaching and business coaching are the most popular, but you can coach people on anything youre passionate about.

Being a coach isnt easy. Even people who intentionally start a career as a coach struggle. What most people dont realize about coaching is that passion does not equal profit. Coaching is a hard sell, but life coaching is especially difficult. Running a coaching business requires more than business skills you need to be proficient at helping people solve their problems.

If youre good at helping people solve their problems, theres a chance you might get addicted to being a coach. Theres nothing more satisfying than helping people grow and transform their lives.

5. Thrifting

Its not hard to find sellable items at your local thrift stores. However, you need an eye for what people want to buy. If youve got that eye, you could end up with a new career.

For example, Natalie Gomez, a former merchandise planner at Macys, took on thrifting as a side job and wound up making thousands of dollars. Gomez was interviewing for a new job when she realized she was already making a good living selling clothes.

Enjoy your side hustles

Even if you dont turn your side gigs into a career, take on gigs you enjoy. Money is necessary, but its never worth sacrificing your happiness.

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Taking the gloom out of Zoom - The American Genius

Coco Gauffdismissed that it made any difference. But as she rallied from a one-set hole in the U.S. Open first round for a second straight year, this much was noticeable: silence.

Gauff, the 16-year-old U.S. tennis sensation, was eliminated on the opening day of a fan-less major by No. 31 seed Anastasija Sevastova 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.

It was no upset. Sevastova is ranked six spots higher than No. 51 Gauff.

But it took the 30-year-old Latvian four match points to finish Gauff, who had already rebounded from a 2-4 hole in the second set. As a grinding third set wore on, it conjured memories of Gauffs trio of three-setters from 2019 at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, all of which she won.

But this one was different. The atmosphere the screeching of train cars in Queens replaced the raucous Louis Armstrong Stadium crowds pulling for Gauff a year ago. And the result Gauffs first defeat in the first round of a Grand Slam in her fourth main-draw appearance.

I compete just as hard with fans or not, said Gauff, who had 13 double faults and 40 unforced errors. I could have played better today.

US OPEN DRAWS: Men | Women

The environment was a new experience for everybody. No ticketed spectators due to the coronavirus pandemic, and few people at all watching in person.

Gauff could have been reminded of her not-too-distant junior days before she burst onto the scene last summer, becoming the youngest woman to reach Wimbledons fourth round sinceJennifer Capriatiand the youngest to reach the U.S. Open third round sinceAnna Kournikova.

I just got on tour a little over a year ago, so I still have a lot to learn and a long ways to go, she said. Im playing against people older than me who have been in more situations, difficult situations, than I have. I think the biggest thing is I just need experience.

She will get that. Gauff, who is also entered in doubles, will after the U.S. Open head to Europe for her first French Open main-draw appearance. She won her one and only junior Grand Slam title at Roland Garros.

She showed precociousness off the court on June 3, delivering a speech off the cuff at a peaceful protest in her Florida hometown, demanding change and promising to use her platform to spread vital information.

This summer I learned a lot about myself, Gauff said Monday. I learned that I can overcome a lot of things on and off the court. I still hope I can be that way and use my platform in that way.

Sevastova moved to 2-8 for 2020, the wins over Gauff and Serena Williams. The Latvian marveled at Gauffs movement, awareness and backhand.

Its uncomfortable to play her, said Sevastova, a 2018 U.S. Open semifinalist. I wish I would play like this when I was 16 years old.

Williams begins another quest for a 24th Grand Slam singles title on Tuesday. She will hope to have better luck than the group of U.S. women who have gone 1-8 so far. A total of 31 Americans are in the 128-player draw, the most since 1993.

MORE: Seven U.S. Open players put in bubble in the bubble

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KazakhAlexey Lutsenkowon the sixth stage of the Tour de France on a day with late climbs (but not a summit finish) that didnt significantly impact the overall standings.

Lutsenko, not a yellow jersey contender, won his first career Tour stage from a seven-rider breakaway just after the start of a 118-mile day. Spains Jesus Herrada was second, 55 seconds behind, followed by Olympic road race champion Greg Van Avermaet and American Neilson Powlesson his 24th birthday.

The last American to win an individual Tour stage wasTyler Farrarin 2011.

TOUR DE FRANCE: Standings | TV, Stream Schedule | Stage By Stage

Great BritainsAdam Yatesretained the race lead, three seconds ahead of pre-race co-favoritePrimoz Roglicof Slovenia. Another Slovenian,Tadej Pogacar, is third, seven seconds behind. Hes followed by a group 13 seconds back that includes defending championEgan Bernalof Colombia.

Yates, fourth in the 2016 Tour, is expected to give up the lead well before the Grand Tour hits Paris in two weeks.

I still want to win a stage; thats what we came here to do, said Yates, who took over the maillot jaune on Wednesday after Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe was penalized 20 seconds for taking a bottle inside the last 12.5 miles. Well play it day by day, see what happens.

The Tour continues with stage seven on Friday at 7 a.m. ET on NBCSN and NBC Sports Gold. A mostly flat stage, after early hills in a windy region of France, is an hors doeuvre for Pyreneean stages on Saturday and Sunday.

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2020 Tour de France standings for the yellow jersey, green jersey, white jersey and polka-dot jersey through stage six of 21 Overall (Yellow Jersey) 1. Adam Yates (GBR) 27:03:57 2. Primoz Roglic (SLO) +:03 3. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) +:07 4. Guillaume Martin (FRA) +:13 5. Egan Bernal (COL) +:13 6. Tom Dumoulin (NED) +:13 7. Esteban Chaves (COL) +:13 8. Nairo Quintana (COL) +:13 9. Romain Bardet (FRA) +:13 10. Miguel Angel Lopez (COL) +:13 12. Thibaut Pinot (FRA) +:13 16. Julian Alaphilippe (FRA) +:15 20. Richard Carapaz (ECU) +:41 38. Sepp Kuss (USA) +7:52

Sprinters (Green Jersey) 1. Sam Bennett (IRL) 129 points2. Peter Sagan (SVK) 117 3. Alexander Kristoff (NOR) 93 4. Caleb Ewan (AUS) 75 5. Matteo Trentin (ITA) 71

Climbers (Polka-Dot Jersey) 1. Benoit Cosnefroy (FRA) 23 points 2. Michael Gogl (AUT) 12 3. Nicolas Roche (IRL) 11 4. Primoz Roglic (SLO) 10 5. Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ) 10

Young Rider (White Jersey) 1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) 27:04:04 2. Egan Bernal (COL) +:06 3. Enric Mas (ESP) :15 4. Sergio Higuita (COL) +:34 5. Dani Martinez (COL) +4:18

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Coco Gauff eliminated in U.S. Open first round - Home of the Olympic Channel

COLUMBIA, Md. (WJZ) University of Maryland head football coach Mike Locksley made a plea to the public Thursday asking for anyone with information about the homicide of his son Meiko Locksley three years ago.

Howard County police announced they have doubled the reward to $20,000 for information in the homicide three years after Locksley was killed.

We believe that there is someone out there who knows what happened. And I implore anyone who may have any information regarding this incident, no matter how small, whether they saw or heard something that night to please report that information to the police, Police Chief Lisa Myers said.

Meiko, who was 25 at the time, was found with a single gunshot wound to the chest in the 5500 block of Harpers Farm Road in Columbia around 10:20 p.m. on September 3, 2017. He was transported to Shock Trauma where he was pronounced dead.

You know, three years ago today we received a knock on our door down in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, that wouldforever change our world our familys lives, Mike Locksley said. Were here today with as a family and with Meikos loved ones to reach out to the public to again ask that if anyone has any information in regards to this case that you come forward.

Police said they started their investigation immediately, and despite serving several search warrants they have not yet gotten the clues needed to close the case.

We canvassed the community to find anyone who may have seen or heard something. We tried to learn as much as we could about Meiko,and his acquaintances and contacts, Capt. Cory Zirk said. We have even served search warrants seeking evidence and information in this case. And while I cant provide all of the details of the investigation, over the last three years,I can assure you that we have left no stone unturned.

Police suspect Meiko was targeted and they dont know at this time if the motive was drug-related or some sort of dispute.

We dont think this incident was random, Zirk said. Our detectives believe that this act of violence was likely committed by someone Meiko knew whether the motive was arobberyor had something to do with drugs, or an ongoing dispute remains to be confirmed.

Police are urging someone to come forward with information.

Someone out there knows what happened over the course of three years. We know that new information can come to light, relationships and friendships and other circumstances may change, Zirk said. If there was something holding you back from giving information to the police back then, we are asking you to reconsiderand come forward now. You may have that one small detail that may seem insignificant to you, but maybe the last piece of the puzzle for our detectives.

Mike Locksley was coaching at the University of Alabama at the time of his sons murder before later moving to Maryland to coach the Terrapins. His sons unsolved murder is never far from his mind.

I grew up in the southside of Washington, D.C., where violence and gun violence was a normal occurrence, and I understand the code that goes along with growing up and these environments, he said.

Still, the family is pleading for answers.

Mike Locksley got emotional talking about his son.

First of all, I was very proud of him in a way he carried out last name. He was a great son, caring was not perfect as no child is, he said. He dealt with struggles with mental health issues, and he was a talented athlete, smart. Gone too soon. But were very thankful for the 25 years we did get to spend with him.

We wantclosure. Were not mad. Were not angry anymore were hurt. We miss him, Locksley said. We would just hope that if someone has any information that they would just come forward to maybe bring some closure. The Circle of Life isnt built for parents to bury children, for us thats been really tough to endure for the last three years.

Meiko used to play football for the University of New Mexico and then Lackawanna College in Pennsylvania. He was working at a Subway store just minutes away from where he was killed.

We also, as a family, we want to send out our prayers to anyone that has endured losing a child. We send our heartfelt prayers, Locksley said.

Police believe that this is a case that can be solved, but they need people to come forward with information.

Anonymous tips can be left at 410-313-STOP or hcpdcrimetips@howardcountymd.gov.

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UMD Football Coach Mike Locksley Pleads For Information In Son Meiko Locksleys 2017 Homicide, $20K Reward Offered - CBS Baltimore

Coronavirus in Mississippi By Rick Cleveland, Sports Columnist | 24 hours ago

Three facts you should know about author John M. Barry, the former football coach whose masterful historical literary works include both The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Greatest Plague in History and Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America:

Barry, who once coached football at the high school, small college and major college levels, remains a huge fan of the sport who admits to watching replays of games from yesteryear on the SEC Network.

Because of his exhaustive research for his book about the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918-19, Barry has become a renowned expert on pandemic preparedness to the extent that both the (George W.) Bush and Obama administrations sought his advice. During the current pandemic, he has authored articles for scientific journals, as well as opinion pieces for the New York Times, Washington Post and several magazines. On any given day, you might catch him on NBCs Meet the Press, ABCs World News Tonight, PBSs The News Hour or numerous NPR shows.

Despite his love for football and his knowledge of pandemics, Barry doesnt have a hard-set stance on whether or not college football should be played during the current COVID-19 pandemic. The season begins in Mississippi Thursday night when Southern Miss plays host to South Alabama.

Its a very difficult question, Barry said. I will say it would be a travesty for any university to play if students are not on campus. Why do universities exist? To provide entertainment for fans or for education? Any so-called school that does play without on-campus instruction should start paying their athletes.

Many college conferences have decided not to play this fall, including the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), the Big Ten, and the Pac-12. The Southeastern Conference delayed its season until Sept. 26 and will play conference games only. Conference USA will play a full schedule, although one league school, Old Dominion, decided not to play.

Said Barry, I think you can play if you are doing everything right with testing, social distancing, masks and all the protocols and if the rate of community transmission is low. I feel the same way about football as I do about living life. I think we should strive to be as normal as possible and to err on the side of caution.

Southern Miss will adhere to all suggested and ordered protocols, including allowing only 25% capacity (about 9,000 fans) to attend the game. While the community transmission rates in Hattiesburg and Forrest County are improving in recent weeks, there were still 102 new cases last week (down from over 200 in late July and early August).

Beth Wynn / Mississippi State University

John M. Barry (far right), with Mississippi State president Mark Keenum (left) and SEC commissioner Greg Sankey when Barry spoke at MSU in 2017

During the Spanish Flu pandemic that killed at least 50 million worldwide and 675,000 in the U.S., the effect on sports, college football in particular, was similar to what we see today. Some conferences played, some didnt. In Mississippi, Southern Miss did not play, while Ole Miss and Mississippi State played reduced schedules.

One of the most powerful sports stories from the pandemic a century ago was in hockey, Barry said. Professional hockey actually canceled the Stanley Cup championship series when both teams had several players become ill.

The series was tied 2-2-1 with just he deciding game remaining to be played. It never was. One player died. One coach never fully recovered from the disease and died a few years later. It remains the only time in history the Stanley Cup was not awarded after the playoffs had begun.

The so-called Spanish Flu, said Barry, left many of those afflicted with long-term health problems.

There were complications, mostly neurological in nature, that did not show up for years, Barry said. There is so much we dont know about this virus and its long-term health effects. We do know that many who are asymptomatic nevertheless have lung damage and heart problems. Thats why we should err on the side of caution.

Barry lives in New Orleans where he is currently Distinguished Scholar at Tulanes Bywater Institute and a professor at the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. In 1973, he was a graduate assistant, coaching wide receivers, for one of the most successful teams in Tulane history. Benny Ellender was the head coach of a Green Wave team that won nine games and lost three and defeated then arch-rival LSU, ranked No. 8 in the nation, 14-0.

Ellender, awarded a 10-year contract after the season, turned down an offer to become the Ole Miss coach he always regretted that, Barry said. Ken Cooper subsequently got the Ole Miss job, and two years later Tulane fired Ellender.

As for Barry, he quit coaching and began writing highly acclaimed books. Now 73, he has a new one in the works. You might not be surprised to learn it will be about the current pandemic.

Donate to our newsroom to help keep our reporting accessible to all. We rely on donations from readers like you to allow us to produce in-depth, sustainable journalism that provides accountability to those in power. Please consider supporting our small nonprofit newsroom with a tax-deductible gift.

Rick Cleveland, a native of Hattiesburg and resident of Jackson, has been Mississippi Todays sports columnist since 2016. A graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi with a bachelors in journalism, Rick has worked for the Monroe (La.) News Star World, Jackson Daily News and Clarion Ledger. He was sports editor of Hattiesburg American, executive director of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. His work as a syndicated columnist and celebrated sports writer has appeared in numerous magazines, periodicals and newspapers. Rick has been recognized 12 times as Mississippi Sports Writer of the Year, and is recipient of multiple awards and honors for his reporting and writing.

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by Rick Cleveland, Mississippi Today September 2, 2020

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Coach-turned-author John Barry still loves football but urges caution during pandemic - Mississippi Today

Keeping qubits stable those quantum equivalents of classic computing bits will be key to realising the potential of quantum computing. Now scientists have found a new obstacle to this stability: natural radiation.

Natural or background radiation comes from all sorts of sources, both natural and artificial. Cosmic rays contribute to natural radiation, for example, and so do concrete buildings. It's around us all the time, and so this poses something of a problem for future quantum computers.

Through a series of experiments that altered the level of natural radiation around qubits, physicists have been able to establish that this background buzz does indeed nudge qubits off balance in a way that stops them from functioning properly.

"Our study is the first to show clearly that low-level ionising radiation in the environment degrades the performance of superconducting qubits," says physicist John Orrell, from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL).

"These findings suggest that radiation shielding will be necessary to attain long-sought performance in quantum computers of this design."

Natural radiation is by no means the most significant or the only threat to qubit stability, which is technically known as coherence everything from temperature fluctuations to electromagnetic fields can break the qubit 'spell'.

But the scientists say if we're to reach a future where quantum computers are taking care of our most advanced computing needs, then this interference from natural radiation is going to have to be dealt with.

It was after experiencing problems with superconducting qubit decoherence that the team behind the new study decided to investigate the possible problem with natural radiation. They found it breaks up a key quantum binding called a Cooper pair of electrons.

"The radiation breaks apart matched pairs of electrons that typically carry electric current without resistance in a superconductor," says physicist Brent VanDevender, from PNNL. "The resistance of those unpaired electrons destroys the delicately prepared state of a qubit."

Classical computers can be disrupted by the same issues that affect qubits, but quantum states are much more delicate and sensitive. One of the reasons that we don't have genuine full-scale quantum computers today is that no one can keep qubits stable for more than a few milliseconds at a time.

If we can improve on that, the benefits in terms of computing power could be huge: whereas classical computing bits can only be set as 1 or 0, qubits can be set as 1, 0 or both at the same time (known as superposition).

Scientists have been able to get it happening, but only for a very short space of time and in a very tightly controlled environment. The good news is that researchers like those at PNNL are committed to the challenge of figuring out how to make quantum computers a reality and now we know a bit more about what we're up against.

"Practical quantum computing with these devices will not be possible unless we address the radiation issue," says VanDevender. "Without mitigation, radiation will limit the coherence time of superconducting qubits to a few milliseconds, which is insufficient for practical quantum computing."

The research has been published in Nature.

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We Just Found Another Obstacle For Quantum Computers to Overcome - And It's Everywhere - ScienceAlert

The Quantum Computing Market report enlightens its readers about its products, applications, and specifications. The research enlists key companies operating in the market and also highlights the roadmap adopted by the companies to consolidate their position in the market. By extensive usage of SWOT analysis and Porters five force analysis tools, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and combination of key companies are comprehensively deduced and referenced in the report. Every single leading player in this global market is profiled with their related details such as product types, business overview, sales, manufacturing base, applications, and other specifications.

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Major Market Players Covered In This Report: D-Wave Systems, 1QB Information Technologies, QxBranch LLC, QC Ware Corp, Research at Google-Google

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Quantum Computing Market Is Booming Worldwide | D-Wave Systems, 1QB Information Technologies, QxBranch LLC and more - The Daily Chronicle

Tufts is joining a major U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) funded center called the Quantum Systems Accelerator (QSA), led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The center hopes to create the next generation of quantum computers and apply them to the study of some of the most challenging problems in physics, chemistry, materials science, and more.

The QSA is one of five new DOE Quantum Information Science research centers announced on Aug. 26, and will be funded with $115 million over five years, supporting dozens of scientists at 15 institutions.

Peter Love, an associate professor of physics, will lead Tufts participation in the project. We have long been interested in using quantum computers for calculations in physics and chemistry, said Love.

A large-scale quantum computer would be a very powerful instrument for studying everything from the structure of large molecules to the nature and behavior of subatomic particles, he said. The only difficulty is that the quantum computers we need dont exist yet.

Quantum computers employ a fundamentally different approach to computing than those existing now, using quantum states of atoms, ions, light, quantum dots or superconducting circuits to store information.

The QSA will bring together world-class researchers and facilities to develop quantum systems that could significantly exceed the capability of todays computers. Multidisciplinary teams across all the institutions will work toward advancing qubit technologythe manner and materials in which information is stored in a quantum state, and other components of quantum computers.

Loves research will focus on developing simulation algorithms in areas such as particle and nuclear physics, which will be run by the new quantum computers. It is important to work hard on the algorithms now, so we are ready when the hardware appears, he said. Love is also part of a National Science Foundation-funded effort to develop a quantum computer and applications to run on it.

Quantum computing is an important and growing area of research at Tufts. Tom Vandervelde, an associate professor in electrical and computer engineering, Luke Davis, an assistant professor of chemistry, and Cristian Staii, an associate professor of physics, are exploring new materials capable of storing qubits.

Philip Shushkov, Charles W. Fotis Assistant Professor of Chemistry, has research focused on theoretical modeling of qubit materials, while Misha Kilmer, William Walker Professor of Mathematics, and Xiaozhe Hu, associate professor of mathematics, study quantum-inspired algorithms relevant to their research in linear algebra. Bruce Boghosian, professor of mathematics, also made some fundamental contributions to quantum simulation in the late 1990s.

Mike Silver can be reached at mike.silver@tufts.edu.

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Tufts Joins Major Effort to Build the Next Generation of Quantum Computers - Tufts Now

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The emergence of quantum computing has led industry heavyweights to fast track their research and innovations. This week, Google conducted the largest chemical simulation on a quantum computer to date. The U.S. Department of Energy, on the other hand, launched five new Quantum Information Science (QIS) Research Centers. Will this accelerate quantum computings progress?

Quantum technology is the next big wave in the tech landscape. As opposed to traditional computers where all the information emails, tweets, YouTube videos, and Facebook photos are streams of electrical pulses in binary digits, 1s and 0s; quantum computers rely on quantum bits or qubits to store information. Qubits are subatomic particles, such as electrons or photons which change their state regularly. Therefore, they can be 1s and 0s at the same time. This enables quantum computers to run multiple complex computational tasks simultaneously and faster when compared to digital computers, mainframes, and servers.

Introduced in the 1900s, quantum computing can unlock the complexities across different industries much faster than traditional computers. A quantum computer can decipher complex encryption systems that can easily impact digital banking, cryptocurrencies, and e-commerce sectors, which heavily depend on encrypted data. Quantum computers can expedite the discovery of new medicines, aid in climate change, power AI, transform logistics, and design new materials. In the U.S., technology giants, including IBM, Google, Honeywell, Microsoft, Intel, IonQ, and Rigetti Computing, are leading the race to build quantum computers and gain a foothold in the quantum computing space. Whereas Alibaba, Baidu, Huawei are leading companies in China.

For a long time, the U.S. and its allies, such as Japan and Germany, had been working hard to compete with China to dominate the quantum technology space. In 2018, the U.S. government released the National Strategy Overview for Quantum Information Science to reduce technical skills gaps and accelerate quantum computing research and development.

In 2019, Google claimed quantum supremacy for supercomputers when the companys Sycamore processor performed specific tasks in 200 seconds, which would have taken a supercomputer 10,000 years to complete. In the same year, Intel rolled out Horse Ridge, a cryogenic quantum control chip, to reduce the quantum computing complexities and accelerate quantum practicality.

Tech news: Is Data Portability the Answer To Anti-Competitive Practices?

Whats 2020 Looking Like For Quantum Computing?

In July 2020, IBM announced a research partnership with the Japanese business and academia to advance quantum computing innovations. This alliance will deepen ties between the countries and build an ecosystem to improve quantum skills and advance research and development.

More recently, in June 2020, Honeywell announced the development of the worlds highest-performing quantum computer. AWS, Microsoft, and several other IaaS providers have announced quantum cloud services, an initiative to advance quantum computing adoption. In August 2020, AWS announced the general availability of its Amazon Braket, a quantum cloud service that allows developers to design, develop, test, and run quantum algorithms.

Since last year, auto manufacturers, such as Daimler and Volkswagen have been leveraging quantum computers to identify new methods to improve electric vehicle battery performance. Pharmaceutical companies are also using the technology to develop new medicines and drugs.

Last week, the Google AI Quantum team used their quantum processor, Sycamore, to simulate changes in the configuration of a chemical molecule, diazene. During the process, the computer was able to describe the changes in the positions of hydrogen accurately. The computer also gave an accurate description of the binding energy of hydrogen in bigger chains.

If quantum computers develop the ability to predict chemical processes, it would advance the development of a wide range of new materials with unknown properties. Current quantum computers, unfortunately, lack the augmented scaling required for such a task. Although todays computers are not ready to take on such a challenge yet, computer scientists hope to accomplish this in the near future as tech giants like Google invest in quantum computing-related research.

Tech news: Will Googles Nearby Share Have Anything Transformative to Offer?

It, therefore, came as a relief to many computer scientists when the U.S. Department of Energy announced an investment of $625 million over the next five years for five newly formed Quantum Information Science (QIS) Research Centers in the U.S. The newly formed hubs are an amalgam of research universities, national labs, and tech titans in quantum computing. Each of the research hubs is led by the Energy Departments Argonne National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Fermi National Laboratory, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; powered by Microsoft, IBM, Intel, Riggeti, and ColdQuanta. This partnership aims to advance quantum computing commercialization.

Chetan Nayak, general manager of Quantum Hardware at Microsoft, says, While quantum computing will someday have a profound impact, todays quantum computing systems are still nascent technologies. To scale these systems, we must overcome a number of scientific challenges. Microsoft has been tackling these challenges head-on through our work towards developing topological qubits, classical information processing devices for quantum control, new quantum algorithms, and simulations.

At the start of this year, Daniel Newman, principal analyst and founding partner at Futurum Research, predicted that 2020 will be a big year for investors and Silicon Valley to invest in quantum computing companies. He said, It will be incredibly impactful over the next decade, and 2020 should be a big year for advancement and investment.

Quantum computing is still in the development phase, and the lack of suppliers and skilled researchers might be one of the influential factors in its establishment. However, if tech giants, and researchers continue to collaborate on a large scale, quantum technology can turbocharge innovation at a large scale.

What are your thoughts on the progress of quantum computing? Comment below or let us know on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook. Wed love to hear from you!

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The Quantum Dream: Are We There Yet? - Toolbox

Commerce Department and Federal Trade Commission-led studies diving deep into Americas pursuit, use and governance of multiple emerging technologiesand resulting in tips for national strategies to advance each and secure supply chainswould be required under a bipartisan bill introduced Friday.

The American Competitiveness on More Productive Emerging Tech Economy, or COMPETE Act, set forth by Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., and Bobby Rush, D-Ill., is a legislative package of several other previously-introduced bills focused on boosting Congress grasp of the tech landscape.

If passed, it would mandate new research into confronting online harms, and advancing eight buzzy areas of on-the-rise emerging technology: artificial intelligence, quantum computing, blockchain, new and advanced materials, unmanned delivery services, 3D printing, the internet of things, and IoT in manufacturing.

Such tech has expanded the horizons of humankind, drastically changing the way we exchange information and interact with the world around us, Rush said in a statement, adding that, as these technologies develop and become more prolific, it is imperative that the U.S. take the lead in appreciating both the benefits and risks associated with [them], and ensure that we remain competitive on the world stage.

Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce upon introduction, the 36-page bill incorporates the Advancing Blockchain Act, initially introduced by Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., the Advancing Quantum Computing Act from Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Va., and almost 10 other pieces of previously put forward legislation calling for research into contemporary technologies impact on commerce and society. The bill calls for year-long, agency-led investigations into each of the listed burgeoning technological industries and areaswith explicit instructions for the type of information the agencies would need to report back to Congress. The work would entail developing lists of public-private partnerships promoting the various techs adoption, exploring standards and policies implemented by those tapping into each, identifying near- and long-term risks among supply chains, pinpointing tech industry impacts on the U.S. economy and much more.

Studies are studies and from a Congressional standpoint they are generally used to inform oversight and legislative activity. Thats likely the case here, Mike Hettinger, founder of Hettinger Strategy Group and former House Oversight Committee staffer told Nextgov Tuesday. On [its] face, the bill is not going to change any existing policy related to any of the areas on which it is focused. That said, the more we know, the better off we will be.

Agencies involved in producing the reports would also need to craft recommendations for policies and legislation that would advance the expeditious adoption of the said technologies, according to the act.

Hettinger noted that the bill could signal that the participating lawmakers are teeing up potential legislative action.

Thats the thing to watch because for the most part when you have emerging technology you want to be very careful not to over-regulate it in a way that would hinder innovation, he said, noting that what we need more than anything in these areas is continued robust federal investment in related research and development.

You hope that by studying these areas in-depth first, youll avoid any knee-jerk regulation that could harm innovation, he added.

On top of honing in on each specific emerging technology, the bill also includes a section that Hettinger said hes particularly intrigued by, which is the full text of what was originally introduced as the Countering Online Harms Act. In the COMPETE Act, the portion mandates a study to consider whether and how artificial intelligence may be used to identify, remove, or take any other appropriate action necessary to address online harms, like manipulated content such as deepfakes used to mislead people, disinformation campaigns, fraudulent content intended to scamand beyond.

The issue of deceptive content and deepfakes is front and center today as the 2020 election moves into full swing, Hettinger said. Being able to identify what content is authentic and what has been manipulated is increasingly critical for protecting the integrity of our electoral process.

The bills included in the legislative bundle were put forth prior by several other lawmakersall of whom contributed to what Hettinger suggested marks a unique approach. He pointed out that outside of the Smart IoT Act, most pieces of legislation included in COMPETE were formerly introduced on the same date this summerMay 19and their language is strikingly similar, at times nearly identical.

This suggests to me that this was a coordinated approach from the outset, and part of an innovation agenda, Hettinger said. I dont know the behind the scenes posturing thats going on, but we do expect to see a lot of legislative activity between now and the end of the year so I assume the plan is to try and pass this combined package in the House before Congress adjourns for the year.

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Bipartisan Bill Calls for Government-Led Studies Into Emerging Tech Impacts - Nextgov

Students of IISER Pune next to the strontium-based optical atomic clocks setup. Photo: IISER Pune.

Pune/Bengaluru: Two Pune-based premier research institutes, the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) and the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), have joined hands to build Indias first two optical atomic clocks.

The institutes will build one clock each, with help from the Government of India. If the project is successful, India will join a small global club of countries with the ability to build these ultra-precise timekeeping devices.

According to the scientists involved, the clocks will only skip one second in more than 13.8 billion years, which is the approximate age of our universe.

Since the middle of the 20th century till now, there have been tremendous efforts in the field of atomic clocks, making time the most accurately measured physical quantity, the authors of a paper published in 2014 wrote.

Optical atomic clocks themselves have a few well-known applications. Foremost of course is accurate timekeeping which in turn has multiple applications of its own, according to Subhadeep De, an associate professor and expert in optical physics at IUCAA and one of the members of the project.

For example, GPS satellites use radar signals to determine the position of an object on the ground. However, there is a time lag both due to time taken for the signals to move between the ground and the satellites and because the satellites are in motion relative to the object while they move through Earths gravitational field, incurring really tiny but significant time delays arising from the theories of relativity.

The worlds prevailing frequency standard for measuring time is derived from caesium atomic clocks. Here, caesium atoms are imparted energy by different means in different designs and forced to jump from one energy level to a slightly higher one, called the atoms hyperfine ground states. Shortly after, the atom drops back to its previous state by emitting microwave radiation at 9,192,631,770 Hz.

Hz here is hertz, the SI unit of frequency, defined as per second. So when a detector measures 9,192,631,770 waves from crest to trough of this microwave emission, coming from the caesium atoms, one second will have passed.

According to the Mechatronics Handbook (2002), all timekeeping machines have three parts: an energy source, a resonator and a counter. In a household wall clock, the energy source is a AA or AAA battery; the resonator, in this case the clocks gears, is the system that moves in a periodic manner; and the counter is the display. The energy and resonator are together called an oscillator.

In atomic clocks, the oscillator is, say, a laser imparting energy to a caesium atom ticking between the two hyperfine ground states. The radiation the atom releases is the resonator. The detector is the counter.

The clocks being built by IUCAA and IISER have the same underlying principle but use more advanced technologies. Indeed, optical atomic clocks are considered to be the next step in the evolution of atomic clocks and are likely to replace caesium atomic clocks as the worlds time standard in future. A glimpse of the underlying engineering shows us why.

First, confining the atoms or ions is very difficult. To keep the clock precise, its operators need to ensure the atoms dont combine to form molecules, bump into each other and/or dont react with the containers walls. So instead of confining them in material containers, the IUCAA and IISER teams are using optical and electromagnetic traps.

Specifically, neutral atoms are confined in an optically created storage basket known as an optical lattice, which is created by interfering two counter-propagating laser beams, Umakant Rapol, an associate professor at IISER, said. The ions are confined by oscillating electric fields.

Second, once the particles have been confined, they will be laser-cooled to nearly absolute zero (the coldest temperature possible, 0 K or -273.15 C). In their simplest form, laser-cooling techniques force atoms to lose their kinetic energy and come very nearly to a still. Since the temperature of a macroscopic body is nothing but the collective kinetic energy of its atoms, a container of nearly-still atoms is bound to feel very cold. And once more of the atoms kinetic energy has been removed, their quantum physical effects become more noticeable, allowing the clock to be more precise.

The choice of atoms to use in the clock is dictated by whether they can be cooled to a few microkelvin above absolute zero using laser-cooling, and if their switching between the two energy states is immune to stray magnetic fields, electric fields, the temperature of the background, etc., Rapol said.

Ytterbium and strontium atoms check both these boxes. IUCAA will be building a ytterbium-ion clock. In this clock, a single ytterbium ion will be used to produce the resonating radiation. Using multiple ions gives rise to an effect called a Coulomb shift, which interferes with the clock design. IISER will be building a strontium-atom clock.

When a caesium atom swings between the two hyperfine ground states, it emits a specific amount of energy as microwave radiation. When the ytterbium and strontium atoms swing between two of their energy states, they emit energy as optical radiation. Both these elements have highly stable optical emissions at wavelengths of 467 nm and 698.4 nm corresponding to 642,121,496,772,645 Hz and 429,228,066,418,009 Hz for ytterbium-ion and strontium atom, respectively.

These high frequencies two orders of magnitude higher than the microwave radiation in caesium clocks is the source of the clocks ability to miss less than one second in 13.8 billion years.

(The makers of an optical strontium clock reported in 2014 that their device wouldnt miss one second in 15 billion years!)

Also read: Experimenting with Cold, Magnetic Materials in Indore

However, taking advantage of this stable emission means accurately detecting the high-frequency optical radiation. That is, if researchers need to build optical atomic clocks, they also need to be able to build and operate state-of-the-art frequency measurement systems. These devices in the form of frequency combs constitute the third feature of the IUCAA and IISER clocks.

A frequency comb is an advanced laser whose output radiation lies in multiple, evenly-spaced frequencies. This output can be used to convert high-frequency optical signals into more easily countable lower-frequency microwave signals like in the diagram shown below (source).

The principal challenge before India is to build all these devices from scratch. Rapol said the teams plan to develop most of the required technologies in Pune. They require expertise in the fields of optics, instrumentation, electronics, ultra-high vacuums, and mechanical and software engineering, among others.

National collaborations such as [us] working together with our next-door neighbour IISER will be beneficial, De said. Rapol mirrored this opinion: We are going to share expertise with IUCAA and are already working [together] to create an ion trap.

Rapol also said one clock is half-ready: We have laser-cooled the strontium atoms and are ready to load these atoms into one-dimensional chains, to increase the signal-to-noise ratio, and will have the optical clock soon, he said. They are also waiting to fit in the frequency comb.

He estimated that once the funds and equipment have been procured, it should take two years or less to build the clock at IISER. The IUCAA clock is expected to be ready in four or five years.

Once both clocks are operational, they will be linked together.

Grander applications

There are multiple open problems in physics at the moment. Four of the more prominent ones include the search for new physics, the reconciliation of quantum mechanics and relativity, an explanation for what happened to the universes antimatter, and the nature of dark matter.

De noted that various experiments designed to help answer these questions and others besides require researchers to be able to measure time in different contexts with increasingly higher precision and accuracy.

Rapol also expressed excitement about measuring changes in the values of fundamental constants. Constants are called so because their values dont change but the values of some constants could be changing too slightly for existing clocks to notice.

For example, the fine-structure constant is a number that determines the strength with which a charged particle, like an electron or a ytterbium ion, couples with an electromagnetic field. If this number increases or decreases with time, there could be implications for the whole universe everywhere charged particles interact with each other.

According to De, the ytterbium ion is more sensitive to the fine structure constant than strontium atoms. So if the constants value changes with time, the ytterbium clocks transition frequency will vary at a much faster rate relative to that of the strontium clock. This [difference] will eventually allow us to measure time variation of the fundamental constant, if there is any at all.

For a different example, physicists who study particles called neutrinos sometimes need to beam these particles from a source to a detector hundreds of kilometres away, through the atmosphere (these particles are entirely harmless). In 2011, physicists in Italy found that some neutrinos that had been beamed from a facility near Geneva and detected at their instrument, called OPERA, had travelled faster than light. The claim became a major source of controversy because faster-than-light travel violates the special theory of relativity.

The problem was found a few months later: the OPERA master clock had glitched, and measured the neutrinos time of arrival wrong by just 75 nanoseconds.

Other applications of atomic clocks include GPS systems, gravity-aided navigation, astronomy and geology.

Also read: Listen | Tick-tock, Tick-tock, Say Hello To the Doomsday Clock

More immediate concerns

The clocks also bring deeper opportunities for Indias scientists and engineers.

In 2017, the Department of Science and Technology had mooted its Quantum-Enabled Science & Technology programme. Its aim, the principal scientific adviser had told The Print in 2019, was to ramp up research and development activities related to quantum computing. In the 2020 Union budget, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the Centre would invest Rs 8,000 crore in the next five years under a new national mission for quantum technologies.

So as such, there are both interest and funds available at the moment to develop concepts and technologies to address a variety of applications. At present, we are using conventional technologies in our daily life for commercial and navigational purposes, De said. The world is moving towards the quantum computers, quantum communication systems and quantum internet.

In this regard, we can import the clock, but [operating it] will need highly skilled professionals. On the other hand, being able to build optical atomic clocks could help us become self-sustained and develop skilled human resources in the process, De noted.

And of course, theres the pride. A few years ago, a team at the National Physical Laboratory of India, New Delhi, led by Poonam Arora built Indias first atomic clock with caesium atoms (the authors of the 2014 paper quoted earlier). This clock is Indias current frequency standard the machine that defines how time is measured in the country. The researchers acknowledge in their paper that they expect optical frequency standards will replace the [caesium fountain clock] as primary frequency standards in the next few years.

De, Rapol and their colleagues and students at IUCAA and IISER are now attempting to bring India to this next threshold.

Japan is the only country in the Asia-Pacific to have built [optical atomic clocks], and China is working hard among other nations like Australia, Taiwan, Thailand, South Korea, Singapore and Russia, according to De.

Himanshu N. is a freelance journalist. Vasudevan Mukunth is editor, The Wire Science.

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Two Pune Research Institutes Are Building India's First Optical Atomic Clocks - The Wire Science