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back to article UK.gov launches roadmap for Quantum of Something or other

Innovate UK has published a "roadmap" of future technological development to encourage commercial investment in quantum research. The UK's self-described "innovation agency" has published A Roadmap for Quantum Technologies in the UK (PDF) as Jo Johnson, minister for universities and science, ventured to Glasgow's Quantum …

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  1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

    oh good

    Because government are so much better at spotting the area of physics where the next breakthrough will come than physicists are and can so much more efficiently target resources.

    That' why we have all these high temperature superconductor research centers founded, and funded, in the 80s which have produced so much

    3 3 Reply
    1. J P
      Reply Icon

      Re: oh good

      Interestingly, there's an article on the FT discussing much the same point about tech prediction (behind the paywall at http://on.ft.com/1MQx9U4 ) - other commentards here may remember one of the sources they discuss, "Future Stuff" by Malcolm Abrams, in which a non-technical author successfully predicted a range of outcomes (if not the underlying research) which "experts" regularly missed in favour of eg telling us the Segway would change the world.

      3 0 Reply
      1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge
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        Re: oh good

        It's not a question of experts predict - it's that this money comes out of physics budget and goes to which ever bandwagon is flavour of the month.

        So it's nano-tech this, quantum that, cyber-thingy - most of it goes on new buildings and marketing but the studentships, post-docs and staff positions are all cut.

        1 0 Reply
  2. Trollslayer

    Quantum of Self Serving Comittees?

    Just get rid of the word 'quantum' and see what is best.

    1 0 Reply
  3. Anomalous Cowturd
    WTF?

    Quantum engineers?

    Does that mean really small ones?

    Pygmies?

    0 0 Reply
    1. Richard Taylor 2
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      Re: Quantum engineers?

      Just the uncertain ones

      1 0 Reply
    2. allthecoolshortnamesweretaken
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      Re: Quantum engineers?

      No, it means it's based on proabilities where and when they turn up. I thought we already had those?

      0 0 Reply
  4. tiggity Silver badge

    Qunatum Imaging Hub

    Does this exist in an alternate quantum universe with different spelling rules?

    1 0 Reply
  5. allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

    Basic research

    That's always the "problem" with basic research. You'll never know if or when any practical (or commercially interesting) applications emerge. Sometimes it's years, sometimes it's centuries, usually there is no way of telling.

    Re the usual 'tax payer's money' blurb - compared with the amounts of money poured into schemes like bank bailouts, mass surveillance, feel free to add to this list - a couple of millions is not even bits of peelings from small potatoes.

    Being a taxpayer myself I see money spend on basic research as something like croundfunding a kickstarter project.

    1 0 Reply
  6. TonyWilk

    Quantum budget

    Gimme a couple of million an I'll maintain it in a superposition of 'spent' and 'not spent' states.

    Note that trying to count it would collapse the state, so best not do that.

    3 0 Reply
  7. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    "The demand for quantum technologies is being driven by ..."

    If there is a demand for a gizmo to be developed then it is a waste of taxpayer money for the government to subsidize it unless they expect to be the main customer. Haven't they noticed that we live in a market economy?

    If the market wants X then someone will develop it without the need for government bungs in the sure and certain expectation of reaping the profits from supplying it.

    0 0 Reply

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