I can explain digital logic down to the electron in a MOSFET, but I can't come close to the same with quantum computing. This newsletter is a journal of my quest to learn the fundamentals of quantum computing and explain them on a human level.

Welcome to the Quantum Edge newsletter. Join me in my year-long journey into the weirdness that is quantum computing.

Issue 5.0, Mar 6, 2025

In today’s newsletter: It spins but it doesn’t spin. Spin is at the heart of quantum computing. It is very important, but it is a difficult one to explain so I’m giving it the multi-part treatment. Consider this week to be Physics Lite.

This newsletter will get us started on “spin” as it relates to subatomic particles. It will also uncover the electron spin connection between quantum computing and health food. Electron spin is at the foundation of quantum computing. The very same quantum property, electron spin, plays a significant role in our everyday health and aging (we’ll get to that later).

In past newsletters, we’ve learned a bit about electrons. We have seen that:

• Electrons are elementary particles, meaning that they can’t (as far as we know today) be split into smaller particles. Elementary particles are described and categorized by three primary properties: mass, charge and spin.

• Electrons have mass, meaning that when subjected to gravity, they have weight.

• Electrons have a negative charge

• Electrons have spin (which we haven’t yet discussed)

Spin Class

Spin, as it applies to the quantum world, is defined as; “an intrinsic form of angular momentum carried by elementary particles.“ Having angular momentum means to rotate around an axis, or spin. That means that the definition of spin in a subatomic particle is basically the same as the definition of spin in a larger object like a basketball.

However, it is widely thought that electrons don’t really spin. They only act a bit like they spin so the word is more of a metaphor than a true definition. Unlike a spinning basketball that slows down, a “spinning” electron never slows down, it has one speed, which is designated to be 1/2, and spin comes in two forms called spin up and spin down.

Spin Pairs and Health Food

Atoms, of course, have a nucleus made up of protons and neutrons surrounded by a set of electrons. These electrons have either spin up or spin down and they generally come in pairs of one of each. Sometimes, more likely with some atoms, electrons come in odd numbers.

In an atom, electrons are happiest (most stable) when there is an even number of electrons. There will be an equal number of spin up and spin down electrons paired up. In the pairs, the spins cancel each other. If there is an odd number of electrons, the odd electron out may have either spin and will, when in the company of other materials, try to find an atom with an unpaired electron of the opposite spin. The atoms with unpaired electrons are called radicals or free radicals.

You may have herd the term “free radicals” on sketchy health-food advertisements. The ads talk about the latest and greatest antioxidant that will make your skin de age and add years to your life. While the ad may be touting an untested concoction of who knows what, there is a seed of truth to their message. Oxygen does end up as a free radical, with one unpaired electron. These radicals do seek out opposite spin unpaired electrons and combine with them in a process called oxidation.

You’ve also likely heard the term “oxidation” used to describe rust, as you might see on your car. Yep. It is basically the same process caused by a lonely unpaired electron looking for another unpaired electron with the opposite spin.

Free radicals (oxygen atoms with an unpaired electron) can and do attack (bond with) any number of atoms or molecules running around inside your body. They can attack DNA, blood cells, skin cells brain cells and pretty much anything else. Luckily it is a very slow process, and a good healthy diet filled with antioxidants can slow the process. Foods qualified as antioxidants have their own radicals of a different sort and offer a better target for oxygen free radicals. Essentially the antioxidant foods run interference.

Now you know. But - while those late-night infomercials and popup ads may have a seed of truth, they are still likely selling snake oil.

In Summary…

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About Positive Edge LLC

Positive Edge is the consulting arm of Duane Benson, Tech journalist, Futurist, Entrepreneur. Positive Edge is your conduit to decades of leading-edge technology development, management and communications expertise.