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Despite growing excitement around the transformative potential of quantum computing, leaders in many industries are still unfamiliar with the technology that’s likely to prove more disruptive than Artificial Intelligence and blockchain. This ignorance seems particularly acute in industries that deal with physical systems and commodities. In an informal survey of two dozen executives in transportation, logistics, construction and energy, only eight had heard of quantum computing and only two could explain how it works.

In many ways this lack of awareness is understandable. Quantum computing’s value to our digital infrastructure is obvious, but its value to our physical infrastructure is perhaps less evident. Yet, the explosion of power and speed that quantum computers will unleash could indeed have a profound impact on physical systems like our transportation and utility networks. For companies, municipalities and nation states to stay competitive and capture the full benefit of the quantum revolution, leaders must start thinking about how quantum computing can improve our infrastructure.

Unlike classical computers, in which a bit of information can be either a zero or a one, quantum computers are able to take advantage of a third state through a phenomenon known as superposition. Superposition, which is a property of physics at the quantum scale, allows a quantum bit or qubit to be a zero, a one or a zero and a one simultaneously. The result is an astronomical increase in computational capacity over existing transistor-based hardware. Google, for example, has found that its quantum machines can run some algorithms 100 million times faster than conventional processors.

Continue reading “Quantum Computing Can Reshape Our Physical Infrastructure If We Let It” »

Linking qubits via an intermediary protects quantum information for longer.

Carson Huey-You is only 14 years old but he will become Texas Christian University’s youngest graduate on Saturday. NBC’s Jacob Rascon reports for TODAY on the teen’s extraordinary academic story and his promising future. May 13, 2017.

Scientists from around the world are meeting in Sydney to discuss the latest advancements in silicon quantum computing.

Scientists from around the world are landing in Sydney this week to join discussions on the latest research in silicon quantum computing with renowned physicist and Australian of the Year, Professor Michelle Simmons, and UNSW Sydney researchers from the Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology (CQCT), including Professor Andrew Dzurak, Professor Sven Rogge and Professor Andrea Morello.

Bringing together more than 200 leading researchers in the field, the Silicon Quantum Electronics Workshop is a global initiative to share research insights and technology advancements in the race to build the world’s first quantum computer – in silicon.

Continue reading “World experts heading down under to talk silicon quantum computing” »

When you see that, you know you’re touching on something very, very deep and fundamental.

A new test to spot where the ability to exploit the power of quantum mechanics has evolved in nature has been developed by physicists at the University of Warwick.

Experiments suggest that exotic superconducting materials share a “strange metal” state characterized by a quantum speed limit that somehow acts as a fundamental organizing principle.

A ubiquitous quantum phenomenon has been detected in a large class of superconducting materials, fueling a growing belief among physicists that an unknown organizing principle governs the collective behavior of particles and determines how they spread energy and information.

Even with government and industry working on quantum-resistant encryption, getting any solutions rolled out will take time and a massive effort.