In this episode of Rays and Waves we speak about Linear Optical Quantum Computers.

There has been lots of talk about quantum computers in the science media lately. Both companies and academic labs are hard at work to build the sought-after fault-tolerant quantum computer.

As it turns out, one approach to building quantum computers is with optics. Join us as we explore the pros and cons with this light-based approach to quantum computers.

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Good resources to learn more:

- Original KLM paper: Knill, Emanuel, Raymond Laflamme, and Gerald J. Milburn. "A scheme for efficient quantum computation with linear optics." nature 409.6816 (2001): 46-52.

- Good review: Slussarenko, Sergei, and Geoff J. Pryde. "Photonic quantum information processing: A concise review." Applied physics reviews 6.4 (2019).

- Lecture notes: Myers, C. R., and R. Laflamme. "Linear optics quantum computation: an overview." Quantum Computers, Algorithms and Chaos (2006): 45-93.

Game: Quantum Odyssey (https://store.steampowered.com/app/2802710/Quantum_Odyssey/)

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In this episode of Rays and Waves we speak to Katsumoto Ikeda. Kats runs a brilliant webpage about optical design called “A Pencil of Rays” (https://www.pencilofrays.com/). He has worked as an optical designer for well over a decade. and is now the Application Engineer Manager at Ansys in Japan. Join Daniel, Steven, and Kats in a riveting conversation about optical design.

If you like the show, tell your friends about it! And like, subscribe, and all that! If you want to get in touch, shoot us an email on [email protected]

Intro music is Good Vibe by Twisterium. Thanks for making sweet music!

In this episode of Rays and Waves we speak to Mark Nicholson. Few people have made a bigger impact on how modern optics is designed and analysed. Mark was for 30 years involved with Zemax, one of the optical design software giants on the market. Nowadays Mark is retired, but continues to heavily impact the optics industry by running a YouTube channel called Design Optics Fast which teaches a modern approach to optical design. Join Daniel and Steve as they quiz Mark on his career and best advice to coming optics generation.

If you like the show, tell your friends about it! And like, subscribe, and all that! We'd love to hear from you, so feel free to reach out via email at [email protected]

Intro music is Good Vibe by Twisterium. Thanks for making sweet music!

In this episode of Rays and Waves we get to know the podcast purpose and the hosts a bit. Join Daniel and Steve in the episodes to come as they explore the vast world of optics.

If you like the show, tell your friends about it! And like, subscribe, and all that! If you want to get in touch, shoot us an email on [email protected]

Intro music is Good Vibe by Twisterium. Thanks for making sweet music!

In this episode of Rays and Waves we speak about Optical Design. Optical products are all around us, ranging from phones, cameras, cars, communication, grocery shopping, medical devices, and almost everything in between. How to design them? Join Daniel and Steve as they explore optical design from fundamentals of the thin lens equation learned in high school physics to how high-level optical systems are designed today.

If you like the show, tell your friends about it! And like, subscribe, and all that! If you want to get in touch, shoot us an email on [email protected]

Intro music is Good Vibe by Twisterium. Thanks for making sweet music!

In this episode of Rays and Waves we speak about Optical Communication. Join Daniel and Steve as they explore how information transfer through hair-thin glass fibres are changing the world. While data rates have grown by over 10 billion times since the first commercial systems we are still signalling the fall of Troy with fire beacons by blinking lights on and off, only mind-numbingly fast!

If you like the show, tell your friends about it! And like, subscribe, and all that! If you want to get in touch, shoot us an email on [email protected]

Intro music is Good Vibe by Twisterium. Thanks for making sweet music!