Quantum computing may have just taken a major step forward, as a supercomputer facility in Australia becomes the first to have a quantum computer integrated into it. The quantum processor, developed by German-Australian start-up Quantum Brilliance, runs at room temperature, and will now work in tandem with classical supercomputers at the Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre.
Quantum computers have the potential to drastically outperform traditional machines, by tapping into the spooky world of quantum physics. They can perform calculations much faster because quantum bits (qubits) of information can exist in multiple states at once, and data can be transmitted instantaneously through quantum entanglement.
The problem is, most existing quantum computers use superconductors as their qubits, which only operate at temperatures just above absolute zero. That heavy duty cooling adds a huge amount of bulk, cost and energy consumption, limiting where these quantum computers can be used.
Quantum Brilliance, however, has developed a quantum computer processor that can run at room temperature. Its qubits aren’t made of superconductors but defects in diamond lattices, which are far less sensitive to thermal vibrations and more resistant to mechanical shocks too.
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