This week we poked fun at the IBM’s new 50 qudbit quantum computer which looks like a death ray or something out of a 90’s science fiction movie.
Here is some insight into quantum computing, and IBM’s newest display at CES.
A qubit, or quantum bit, is the building block of a quantum computer — the equivalent to a bit in a traditional computer.
The promise of the quantum computer is to solve problems that typical computers will never be able to tackle, by bringing unheard-of power and speed to computing through leveraging the principles of quantum physics.
“You can essentially test all numbers against a problem at once, in parallel,” Weiser said. “It gives you a massive parallelization.”
The system wasn’t able to actually operate at the show, because to do that requires keeping the machine to a temperature far colder than deep space.
“Really all of this infrastructure is built to support the chip, which is the computer itself,” Weiser said, explaining that the 50-qubit processor must be protected not just from an increase in temperature, but also from electrical and mechanical noise.
“Qubits are in a superposition of quantum states between a one and a zero — that’s a very fragile state,” he said.
Potential applications of the quantum computer include complex optimizations, searches and machine learning.
Initially announced in November, IBM’s 50-qubit quantum computer has not yet been released for use by commercial partners, but the company does have its 20-qubit quantum computer currently available for partners.
