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What does quantum cryptography mean for cybersecurity

Quantum computers powerful enough to break public-key encryption are still years away, but when it happens, they could be a major threat.

China takes quantum supremacy lead

This quantum processor completed a complex task in a little over an hour -- about 60,000 times faster than a classical supercomputer.

Physicists produce quantum states in ordinary electronics

The findings may prove to be revolutionary.

Google says it has achieved "quantum computational supremacy"

Google claims that its quantum processor solved a problem in 200 seconds, whereas a normal machine would have taken 10,000 years.

IBM releases the world's first quantum-safe tape drive

Quantum computers may be decades away but that doesn't mean we shouldn't prepare for their disruptive impact.

Physicists devise programmable optical quantum computer

A step closer to quantum computers.

Revolutionary new quantum computer design might be the breakthrough we've all been waiting for

"It's amazing no-one had thought of it before," said one of the scientists involved.

Tiny quantum refrigerator keeps quantum computers cool by 'blinking' electrons

Prepare for some quantum madness.

D-Wave upgrades quantum chip to 2,000 qubits, gets first customer for its $15 million machine

No everyone is convinced this machine can actually perform quantum operations, though.

Atomic ions finally set the stage for an all-purpose, programmable Quantum Computer

For the first time, a team of researchers claims it's made a fully programmable and reconfigurable quantum computer module.

You can now tinker around with IBM's quantum computers - straight from your couch

Quantum computing is still in its infancy, but you can test drive it yourself thanks to IBM.

Quantum computers might soon render RSA encryption obsolete

Using only five atoms, a team of international researchers showed how to factor a prime, albeit a trivial one for demo purposes.

Quantum version of computer code proven to work in silicon chip

University of New South Wales devised a two-qubit system inside a silicon chip and ran a computer code adapted to the quantum world. Their code passed the notoriously intransigent 'Bell test', making it the strongest evidence yet that quantum computers can be instructed to handle operations.

Two-qubit silicon quantum computer works for the very first time

Quantum computing is one of the future's transitional technologies destined to transform human society, along with advanced materials like graphene and metallic glass or advances in space propulsion. Imagine what the transition from vacuum tubes to transistors did for computing, scale that a couple of folds and you might somewhat be close to what quantum computers are capable of. Operations that today's supercomputers require days even weeks to crunch, would be completed immediately by leveraging the quantum weirdness that happens below the nano scale. All of this is theoretically possible - but in practice building a working quantum computer that doesn't disintegrate information has proven to be an immense challenge. We're still far from there, but advances reported by Australian researchers hint that quantum computers aren't a pipe dream.

Intel invests $50 million in quantum computing

Today, Intel announced a 10 year collaboration with Delft University of Technology and TNO, the Dutch Organisation for Applied Research, to accelerate and enhance the advancements in quantum computing: the new type of computing which promises to revolutionize the world as we know it

Squeezing Schrödinger's cat to measure sensitive quantum states

Researchers at ETH Zurich "squeezed" the quantum states of a calcium ion to make it easily distinguishable, i.e. they measured one of its physical quantities more precisely. All while working within the confinements of Heisenberg's Principle of Uncertainty (as if they had a choice). The findings could prove useful for ultra-precise measurements which are particularly sensitive to unwanted external influences.

Rice grain-sized laser helps build the first quantum computer

Princeton researchers demonstrated a novel type of microwave laser - called a maser - so small that's the size of a grain of rice. The laser is powered by individual electrons that tunnel through artificial atoms known as quantum dots.

The quest for the quality qubit: quantum computer based on trapped ions has error rate of only 0.07%

Who would’ve thought only a decade ago that quantum computers would become real in the upcoming future? Those of us without such hindsight need to rely on what’s been reported by scientists, and recently all kinds of developments lend us to think that a quantum computing future isn’t that far off. Take the latest qubit […]

Milestone algorithm runs for the first time on a quantum computer

A 20-year-old algorithm that demonstrated the benefit of using quantum mechanics to solve certain problems has finally been run on a quantum computer – a sweet delicious treat, and a sign that serious progress is being made in the field of quantum computing. The Quantum world is weird A quantum computer is a computation system […]

D-Wave claims it wants to release a 1,000 qubit quantum computer in 2014

A lot of hype has been going D-Wave’s way in the past decade or so. The company is considered by many the leading quantum computing company in the world, boasting clients such as Lockheed Martin or Google. Before munching up on the hype, though, it’s important to understand that to this day no one has […]

Storing one bit per atom: more storage power and closer to quantum computers

There’s only so much you can cram into conventional magnetic storage devices. We’re already seeing these slowly, but surely lose ground in the face of solid-state drives, which offer more storage density and don’t have any moving parts (last longer, make no noise, etc.). What about even further ahead in the future? Well, it’s most […]

Understanding a unique type of magnetism

Using low-frequency laser pulses, a team of researchers has carried out the first measurements on a mineral called herbertsmithite. This (pretty awesome looking) mineral features a unique kind of magnetism. Insite it, magnetic elements constantly fluctuate, leading to an exotic magnetic state, unlike conventional magnetism in which all magnetic forces allign in the same direction […]

An insightful animation on quantum computing [VIDEO]

Theoretical Physicists John Preskill and Spiros Michalakis  sat down for a short talk in which they describe how quantum computing differs from the classical view (i.e. digital computers). They first go on about the fundamental, key aspect of the quantum world: the laws that describe and govern things at the tiniest level differ from those […]

Direct measurement of Van der Waals force made for the first time

Scientists at the Laboratoire Charles Fabry (LCF) in Palaiseau and the University of Lille have for the very first time performed a direct measurement of a Van der Waals force – the weak intermolecular force that causes, in some cases when there isn’t a strong force present, to attract and “stick” to one another. The Van […]

Researchers make breakthrough in quantum computation: factoring a number in prime numbers

If you did intermediate math in school, then you’ll most likely remember how to split numbers into prime factors; basically, any number can be written out by multiplying prime factors. Now, a group of researchers from UC Santa Barbara has designed and fabricated a quantum processor capable of factoring a composite number. Don’t get overexcited […]

Quantum computers will be able to simulate particle collisions [w/ video]

Effective quantum computers are still far away, but researchers are already showing more and more advantages these devices would bring to the table. A trio of theorists have shown one more talent of a quantum computer: it would be powerful enough to study the inner workings of the universe in ways that are far beyond […]

First-ever working quantum network lays foundation for the future's quantum internet

Quantum technology is the future, no doubt. The impact of computing devices based on quantum effects finally entering service would be vast and of immense positive consequence to the scientific world, and hence mankind, comparable with the invent of the microchip. While this future might still seem far fetched, judging from the number of successful […]

Scientists devise qubits in a semiconductor for the first time

Hailed as yet another big step towards devising working quantum computers, scientists at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) have successfully managed to generate quantum qubits inside a semiconductor for the first time, instead of vacuum. A qubit is the quantum analog of a bit. While a bit must be read either as a 0 or 1, the qubit can […]

IBM makes significant breakthrough towards scalable quantum computers

During the past months we’ve been reporting several breakthroughs in the field of quantum computing, and now IBM seems ready to truly pave the way for quantum computers. Researchers announced they are now able to develop a superconducting qubit made from microfabricated silicon that maintains coherence long enough for practical computation. Whoa! That probably sounds […]

Scientists develop single-atom transistor with 'perfect' precision

Australian scientists at University of New South Wales have successfully managed to build the first single-atom transistor, using a scalable, repeatable technique. The scientific community all over the world have already hailed this achievement as a highly important milestone, as single-atom transistors are considered as a critical building block for the eventual development of quantum computers. […]

Quantum computing breakthrough: quantum photonic chip created

Scientists at University of Bristol‘s Centre for Quantum Photonics have remarkably managed to create a multi-purpose optical chip capable of manipulating and measuring quantum entanglement and mixture – two important quantum effects which have been giving researchers headaches for a long time, but which can now be controlled and used to characterize quantum circuits. This […]

Quantum computers one step closer to reality

Physicists from Rice University have made an important break through in the field of quantum computing, after creating a tiny “electron superhighway”, critical for the development of the first working quantum computer. The quantum computer is thought to revolutionize the computing scene of the future, and is believed by many to hold the same impact […]

Big leap for quantum computing

Quantum computers – closer thank you think   The microprocessors used today are absolutely amazing on their own; it seemed, and for good reason, that there was little we could do to improve them. If anything was to top microprocessors, it would have to be something from a totally different league, which is just down […]

Ultrafast quantum computers one step closer

Researchers from the Oxford University have outdone themselves, successfully generating 10 billion bits of quantum entanglement in silicon for the first time, which represents a significant step towards an ultrafast quantum computer, because entanglement is the key element that should make quantum computers way more powerful than “traditional” computers. In order to achieve this, the […]

Atom nuclei can store information

In case you’re wondering, what you’re looking at is a silicon chip, only 1 millimeter square that was used by researchers to prove how data can be stored in the magnetic spin of atoms – and how it can then be accessed electronically. Physicists from the University of Utah have managed to store information in […]