Jun 29, 2009 03:08 PM
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Soon your processor might be able to do three things at once. In a major stride towards commonplace quantum computing, a Yale university team has just unveiled a new two-qubit quantum processor that actually looks like a conventional computer chip.
The chip's qubits (or quantum bits, a unit for quantum information) are built from billions of aluminum atoms, but they function like single atoms. They work just like regular computing bits, being in either a "1" or "0" state. The difference is that qubits can hold superpositions of multiple states, so they can hold much more data and process much more information.
And the fact that this new quantum device looks like a conventional processor means we may not be too many steps away from central processors comprising qubits, making their power and capacity above and beyond what we can imagine for current processors.
That means this electronic quantum processor can do exponentially more than conventional processors in much less space. As reported in an upcoming article in Nature, The team already has their processor doing basic algorithms.
Armed with processors like this new device, the next generation of quantum computers might be the natural extension of Moore's Law, allowing for smaller and smaller computers. And we thought the iPhone was impressive.
First Electronic Quantum Processor Created [via Science Daily]
Demonstration of two-qubit algorithms with a superconducting quantum processor [Nature]
(Image: Blake Johnson/Yale University)
Send an email to Stephen Goldmeier, the author of this post, at stephen@io9.com.
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