You may have heard the term "quantum computing," but what's it all about? In this edition of the Engineering360 news brief, we'll look at that very question, plus some interesting developments in what could be the dawn of a new era for computers.

Quantum Computers

Quantum computers are still in the very early stages of being developed, but they represent an entirely new way to process information. In a traditional computer, data is encoded into binary states of ones and zeros. A quantum computer uses quantum bits, or "qubits," in which multiple states can be superimposed upon one another. In theory, large-scale quantum computers would be able to solve some problems much faster than any classical computing method — perhaps as much as 100,000 times faster. They will also be able to tackle problems that are not practically feasible for classical computers to even attempt — such as decrypting complex cryptographic systems, or simulating the behavior of atoms and particles within a particle accelerator.

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Quantum Supremacy

The concept of "quantum supremacy" came into view several decades ago as scientists imagined an era when quantum computing could outperform classical computing. That era may be a little closer to reality after a recent announcement by Intel. Speaking at CES 2018, the consumer technology show that ran from Jan. 9-12 in Las Vegas, Intel's CEO announced the successful design and fabrication of a superconducting quantum test chip with 49 qubits — a key number for breaking into the quantum supremacy threshold. The chip is called "Tangle Lake," after a chain of lakes in Alaska — a nod to the extreme-cold temperatures and entangled state in which qubits need to function. Intel is also working on alternate qubit architecture that relies on atomic-level spin states, as well as a field called neuromorphic computing that mimics the working of a biological brain and could prove useful to "deep learning" algorithms important to artificial intelligence research.

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DO Try This at Home

Just in case you think quantum computing is purely for the theoretical physicists out there, IBM has introduced its Quantum Experience, or QX, as a way for anyone to connect via cloud computing to a 16-qubit quantum processor. There, users can run algorithms and experiments, as well as exploring tutorials and simulations around what might be possible with quantum computing. According to the company, there are over 40,000 users of the QX, who have collectively run over 275,000 experiments — for everything from academic research papers to games like "Quantum Battleships." There's even a "Beginner's Guide" video for quantum computing narrated by IBM Research scientist Dr. Talia Gershon, who believes that anyone can learn quantum.

Now remember to check out Engineering360 and Electronics360 for more news and information like this — plus engineering reference guides, product spec sheets and videos of interest. Get out there and do some quantum computing!