Scientists Test First Universal Programmable Quantum Computer

Quantum computing uses spooky physics to run faster and more powerfully than traditional computers

By Jeremy Hsu Posted 11.16.2009 at 12:01 pm 5 Comments

Quantum Processor Beryllium ions to lasers: you spin me right round J. Burrus/NIST

Physicists have been taking baby steps toward creating a full-fledged quantum computer faster and more powerful than any computer in existence, by making quantum processors capable of performing individual tasks. Now a group at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed the world's first universal programmable quantum computer that can run any program that's possible under the rules of quantum mechanics.

Quantum computing takes advantage of the bizarre physics operating at the subatomic level, such as Einstein's "spooky action at a distance," wherein two particles become "entangled" and can affect one another even across vast distances of space. Quantum processors store information as quantum bits, or qubits, that can become entangled. Unlike traditional computers that can only process information as either 1s or 0s in binary computer language, the qubits of quantum computing can also represent the state of both 1 and 0 at the same time.

NIST's achievement marks the first time that scientists have created enough inputs and continuous steps to perform programmable processing in a basic quantum computer. The team's computer uses laser pulses to manipulate spinning beryllium ions so that they carry out computer processing, while a separate laser helps interpret the results as calculations.

Early quantum computing theory showed that an infinite number of two-qubit operations exist, and so the NIST team tested just 160 programs 900 times each. The processor worked as intended, but only with a 79 percent accuracy rate -- still below the 99.99 percent rate necessary for a reliable quantum computer.

Researchers hope to boost that accuracy rate by improving their lasers and hardware precision. For now, everyone else need not throw out their supercomputer clusters anytime soon.

[via New Scientist]

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5 Comments

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scubasdsteve87

11/16/09 at 3:18 pm

So if computing power doubles every 2 years... What happens when we get quantum computers with almost unlimited computing power. Just imagine games on your screen so real, that there are no longer polygons, where there is an actual sun in the game 8 seconds (at lightspeed) away and every light particle could be rendered and affect each and every molecule in game.

Just imagine gravity fields so realistic in said games, you don't get whiners about hyperphysics. Imagine the bullet, of the fake .50cal, and how makes the cement wall move around it, then the kevlar vest, and finally its intended target.

Not just gaming too. Imagine a single unit inside a 100 story building the size of your current CPU tower. Now imagine that single cpu handing 300 programs on 400 computers in all 100 stories. Imagine it making almost no sound and chances are, needing no cooling.

Once this Technology becomes viable, soon the once impossible computing abilities will become finally possible.

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extremechiton

11/16/09 at 10:21 pm

im imagining, and this is what i see: a giant computer with web browsing so fast, it goes to the next page before u think of clicking the mouse. uv ray movies in 2050p HD
Holographic screens, 3 and a half D displays,gesture recognition, hackproof systems and files, infinite number of tracks in itunes. etc. everything on a mac pc and laptop, plus much more and... ive lost it.

some one wake me up in a few years when i can get one of these for less than haf a million

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Azorus

11/17/09 at 6:58 am

Okay guys wait for the thing to work at a reliable level first.

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A_Rock

11/17/09 at 10:26 am

K I love the enthusiasm but the Sun is 8 MINUTES away not seconds lol the Sun is more then 80x the diameter of the Earth away (close to the amount of distance light would travel in 8 seconds)
It is true though that with these super computers in about 40 to 60 years we'll be able to create virtual Earths and even sub-galactic systems to play in! :D We'll never be able to program these systems ourselves so we'll have to write programs that can take our ideas and program them for us at super fast speeds. We'll be able to thank the gaming industry for advances in this field (that's just what gaming engines do)
Hell if you want to get super crazy about quantum computers, one day we'll have computers that reach into alternate dimensions where the answer to every question already exists (similar to our own but less abstract) so when you ask the computer a question or for it to solve a problem it will know the answer immediately. Once you have a computer this powerful you might as well name it G.O.D. You can use it to develop faster then light travel, immortality, life creation, universe creation, instant prototypers and anything else you can dream up. I don't see this happening for a few hundred more years but hey I think that's basically the reason we haven't met any aliens yet. If we are about to have this technology in the relatively near future. We would have to assume hyperspace faring aliens are not just lifeforms but demi-gods.
Wow that was a rant lol
I type too fast!

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Oakspar77777

11/18/09 at 9:02 am

and all it will want to do is watch cartoons, sigh uncontrolably, or create worlds where little white mice try to figure out the question to the answer 42.