Quantum counterfactual answers out of thin air

In what can only be described as a breakthrough in computing, scientists have reported on experimental evidence of counterfactual computing. The idea is bizarre: the theory of quantum mechanics predicts that under certain conditions, you can compute the answer to mathematical problem (called an algorithm) without actually running the computer. This, now, has been confirmed experimentally, breaking down the barriers to wider applications.

The physics is quite detailed, and this is how the research’s team leader, physicist Paul Kwiat, attempted to explain it:

"In a sense, it is the possibility that the algorithm could run which prevents the algorithm from running. That is at the heart of quantum interrogation schemes, and to my mind, quantum mechanics doesn’t get any more mysterious than this."

Hey, as long as it works!

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