Tag: quantum computing

Let’s look at some of the newest quantum computers coming out

The very computer you’re reading this on — desktop, laptop, tablet, or smartphone — is using bits to store information. That is, ones and zeroes. Quantum computers, on the other hand, use qubits, which can represent a one, a zero, or both a one and a zero at the same time. This means, they can make calculations faster — MUCH faster. Quantum computers can crack even the most secure government encryption keys, making them a security threat. But, they’re not so accessible, and will mostly be used for research and complex problem solving. They will, however, eventually make a splash in the enterprise world.

While today’s computers—referred to as classical computers—continue to become more and more powerful, there is a ceiling to their advancement due to the physical limits of the materials used to make them. Quantum computing allows physicists and researchers to exponentially increase computation power, harnessing potential parallel realities to do so.

Quantum computer chips are astoundingly small, about the size of a fingernail. Scientists have to not only build the computer itself but also the ultra-protected environment in which they operate. Total isolation is required to eliminate vibrations and other external influences on synchronized atoms; if the atoms become ‘decoherent’ the quantum computer cannot function.

“You need to create a very quiet, clean, cold environment for these chips to work in,” says quantum computing expert Vern Brownell. The coldest temperature possible in physics is -273.15 degrees C. The rooms required for quantum computing are -273.14 degrees C, which is 150 times colder than outer space. It is complex and mind-boggling work, but the potential for computation that harnesses the power of parallel universes is worth the chase.

Most people know of quantum computers from science fiction references to future technology. But what are they, exactly? What are they used for and how do they differ from classical computers?

From the former head of Google Quantum AI starting a new job, to Honeywell and IonQ releasing the most powerful quantum computers to date, in this video I discuss the latest news in quantum computing.

Quantum computers can solve problems in seconds that would take “ordinary” computers millennia, but their sensitivity to interference is majorly holding them back. Now, researchers claim they’ve created a component that drastically cuts down on error-inducing noise.

Quantum computers use quantum bits, or qubits, which can represent a one, a zero, or any combination of the two simultaneously. This is thanks to the quantum phenomenon known as superposition.

Another property, quantum entanglement, allows for qubits to be linked together, and changing the state of one qubit will also change the state of its entangled partner.

Thanks to these two properties, quantum computers of a few dozen qubits can outperform massive supercomputers in certain very specific tasks. But there are several issues holding quantum computers back from solving the world’s toughest problems, one of them is how prone qubits are to error.

For the first time ever, researchers have created a material that acts as a superconductor at nearly room temperature. But there’s a catch.

Superconductors are the secret sauce that many designs for quantum computers, particle accelerators, and fusion reactors depend on to function. But most superconductors need to be kept at ultra cold temperatures, a drawback that severely limits their use.

Superconductors are aptly named; they’re materials that conduct electricity with zero resistance, meaning a current can move through the material without losing any energy.

They also expel magnetic fields thanks to a phenomenon called the Meissner effect. If an external magnetic field is weak enough, it cannot penetrate the material, but stronger magnetic fields interact with superconductors in one of two ways, depending on the kind of superconductor.

Quantum computing review, including Google’s quantum supremacy claims, quantum cloud developments (QCaaS), trapped ion quantum computing, and a brief look at Python quantum coding!