Quantum Computing

A quantum internet would be much faster and more secure than the regular web – and now it may be one step closer to reality. Scientists have used quantum teleportation to send information over long distances, with a higher fidelity than ever before.

A Chinese quantum computer called Jiuzhang has apparently achieved "quantum supremacy" – conducting a calculation in 200 seconds that would take a regular supercomputer a staggering 2.5 billion years to complete.

Some advanced electronic devices only function at extremely cold temperatures. Now engineers at NIST have developed a tiny cryogenic thermometer that uses a new mechanism to keep an eye on these sensitive instruments without taking up much room.

Progress on quantum computers may soon stall. Cosmic rays streaming to Earth can interfere with the integrity of information in quantum computers, and now an MIT team has shown just how vulnerable they are and what it might take to protect them.

Time crystals are strange phases of matter that appear to break time-translation symmetry. Now scientists have observed two time crystals interacting for the first time, which could be a step towards practical applications like quantum computing.

Which time travel movie got the rules right? According to experiments using a quantum time travel simulator, reality is “self-healing,” so changes made to the past won’t drastically alter the future you came from – at least, in the quantum realm.

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has announced and detailed a blueprint for a national quantum internet that would be super-fast and nigh on unhackable. The document describes four priority research areas, and five major milestones on the path.

Researchers have demonstrated quantum entanglement on a small satellite orbiting Earth. The team developed a miniaturized device that produces pairs of photons that are inextricably linked, which could help launch a fast and secure quantum internet.

Current-gen quantum computing "qubits" need to be kept incredibly cold – below 0.1 Kelvin (-273.05 °C/-459.5 °F). But new "hot qubits" developed at UNSW can work 15 times hotter, opening the door to radically smaller, cheaper quantum computers.

Scientists have achieved quantum teleportation between two computer chips for the first time, sending information between them without being physically or electronically connected. The feat opens the door for quantum computers and quantum internet.

Scientists have found a way to produce quantum states in ordinary, everyday electronics without exotic materials or equipment. This raises the possibility that quantum information technologies can be created using current devices.

Google has announced that it has achieved “quantum supremacy,” the point where a quantum computer successfully performs an operation considered impossible for traditional computers. But rival IBM disagrees that this has been achieved at all.