Quantum computers could revolutionize the way we tackle problems that stump even the best classical computers.
Single atom transistor recently introduced has been seen as a tool that could lead the way to building a quantum computer. For general introduction how quantum computer work, read A tale of two qubits: how quantum computers work article.
D-Wave Announces Commercially Available Quantum Computer article tells that computing company D-Wave has announced that they’re selling a quantum computing system commercially, which they’re calling the D-Wave One. D-Wave system comes equipped with a 128-qubit processor that’s designed to perform discrete optimization operations. The processor uses quantum annealing to perform these operations.
D-Wave is advertisting a number of different applications for its quantum computing system, primarily in the field of artificial intelligence. According to the company, its system can handle virtually any AI application that can be translated to a Markov random field.
Learning to program the D-Wave One blog article tells that the processor in the D-Wave One – codenamed Rainier – is designed to perform a single mathematical operation called discrete optimization. It is a special purpose processor. When writing applications the D-Wave One is used only for the steps in your task that involve solving optimization problems. All the other parts of your code still run on your conventional systems of choice. Rainier solves optimization problems using quantum annealing (QA), which is a class of problem solving approaches that use quantum effects to help get better solutions, faster. Learning to program the D-Wave One is the first in a series of blog posts describing the algorithms we have run on D-Wave quantum computers, and how to use these to build interesting applications.
But is this the start of the quantum computers era? Maybe not. D-Wave Announces Commercially Available Quantum Computer article comments tell a story that this computer might not be the quantum computer you might be waiting for. It seem that the name “quantum computer” is a bit misleading for this product. There are serious controversies around the working and “quantumness” of the machine. D-Wave has been heavily criticized by some scientists in the quantum computing field. First sale for quantum computing article tells that uncertainty persists around how the impressive black monolith known as D-Wave One actually works. Computer scientists have long questioned whether D-Wave’s systems truly exploit quantum physics on their products.
Slashdot article D-Wave Announces Commercially Available Quantum Computer comments tell that this has the same central problem as before. D-Wave’s computers haven’t demonstrated that their commercial bits are entangled. There’s no way to really distinguish what they are doing from essentially classical simulated annealing. Recommended reading that is skeptical of D-Wave’s claims is much of what Scott Aaronson has wrote about them. See for example http://www.scottaaronson.com/blog/?p=639, http://www.scottaaronson.com/blog/?p=198 although interestingly after he visited D-Wave’s labs in person his views changed slightly and became slightly more sympathetic to them http://www.scottaaronson.com/blog/?p=954.
So it is hard to say if the “128 qubits” part is snake oil or for real. If the 128 “qubits” aren’t entangled at all, which means it is useless for any of the quantum algorithms that one generally thinks of. It seem that this device simply has 128 separate “qubits” that are queried individually, and is, essentially an augmented classical computer that gains a few minor advantages in some very specific algorithms (i.e. the quantum annealing algorithm) due to this qubit querying, but is otherwise indistinguishable from a really expensive classical computer for any other purpose. This has the same central problem as before: D-Wave’s computers haven’t demonstrated that their commercial bits are entangled.
Rather than constantly adding more qubits and issuing more hard-to-evaluate announcements, while leaving the scientific characterization of its devices in a state of limbo, why doesn’t D-Wave just focus all its efforts on demonstrating entanglement, or otherwise getting stronger evidence for a quantum role in the apparent speedup? There’s a reason why academic quantum computing groups focus on pushing down decoherence and demonstrating entanglement in 2, 3, or 4 qubits: because that way, at least you know that the qubits are qubits! Suppose D-Wave were marketing a classical, special-purpose, $10-million computer designed to perform simulated annealing, for 90-bit Ising spin glass problems with a certain fixed topology, somewhat better than an off-the-shelf computing cluster. Would there be even 5% of the public interest that there is now?
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Tomi Engdahl says:
Intel Labs Director Talks Quantum, Probabilistic, and Neuromorphic Computing
Rich Uhlig, who took over Intel Labs late last year, discusses Intel’s vision for the future of computing
https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/computing/hardware/intel-labs-director-talks-quantum-probabilistic-and-neuromorphic-computing
Tomi Engdahl says:
One Step Closer to Reducing Quantum Computing’s Notoriously Troublesome Errors
https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/computing/hardware/quest-to-reduce-quantum-errors
Most of the popular coverage of quantum computing gives the impression that this technology is poised for an imminent breakthrough, one that will revolutionize the world of computing. Of course, reality is far less dramatic.
Sure, sophisticated research into quantum computing is going on, as it has for decades.
demonstrated something that’s long been seen as key to making quantum computing work: reducing error rates through redundancy.
You see, the hardware used to encode quantum bits—qubits—in today’s prototype quantum computers is prone to all sorts of noise, which quickly corrupts the stored information. These prototypes have thus been called noisy intermediate-scale quantum computers, or NISQ computers. And so far, they serve no practical purpose other than as vehicles for research.
It’s been known for decades that specially designed error-correction schemes could, at least in theory, reduce error rates in quantum computations. But those schemes are based on certain assumptions about the character of the noise involved, and it’s not certain whether these assumptions hold for real NISQ machines. Researchers are just beginning to explore that question.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Quantum Computing 101: 5 Key Concepts to Understand
Here are five key questions everyone looking to understand quantum computing should ask.
https://www.designnews.com/electronics-test/quantum-computing-101-5-key-concepts-understand/208209538060343?ADTRK=UBM&elq_mid=7700&elq_cid=876648
Even though artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are taking center stage in the world of emerging technologies, there’s another technology that is slowly making its presence known to society – quantum computing. New quantum machines such as Google’s Bristlecone chip and IBM’s Q initiative are already appearing in headlines. IBM has even provided public access to an online quantum computer for research and experimentation purposes.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Katia Moskvitch / WIRED UK:
Inside CERN’s quest to build a reliable quantum computing device, as it’ll need 50-100 times more computing power to process Large Hadron Collider data by 2026
Inside the high-stakes race to make quantum computers work
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/quantum-computers-ibm-cern
Quantum computers could help explain some of the most fundamental mysteries in the universe and upend everything from finance to encryption – if only someone could get them to work
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2019/03/11/fujitsulta-toisen-polven-optimointipalvelu-vaikka-mobiiliverkkojen-suunnitteluun/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tärkeä piiriratkaisu kvanttitietokoneisiin – Suomesta
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2019/03/12/suomesta-tarkea-piiriratkaisu-kvanttitietokoneisiin/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Aalto-yliopistossa ratkaistiin iso kvanttikoneiden ongelma
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/9204-aalto-yliopistossa-ratkaistiin-iso-kvanttikoneiden-ongelma
Tänään Nature Physics -lehdessä julkaistavassa artikkelissaan Aalto-yliopiston ja Oulun yliopiston tutkijat osoittavat kokeellisesti, kuinka he voivat halutessaan nopeuttaa häviöitä tuhatkertaisiksi korkealaatuisessa suprajohtavassa värähtelijässä. Värähtelijöitä käytetään kvanttitietokoneissa.
Kubittien eli kvanttibittien tulee säilyttää energiatilansa mahdollisimman pitkään, jotta kvanttilaitteilla voidaan ratkaista käytännön kannalta tärkeitä ongelmia.
- Kehittämämme kvanttipiirijäähdytin mahdollistaa häviöiden hallinnan. Tätä tarvitaan tulevaisuuden kvanttitietokoneiden rakentamisessa,” Möttönen sanoo.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://qtf.fi/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google Builds Circuit to Solve One of Quantum Computing’s Biggest Problems
An ultra-low power cryogenic IC would help quantum computers scale up
https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/semiconductors/design/google-team-builds-circuit-to-solve-one-of-quantum-computings-biggest-problems
One of the big limiters to today’s quantum computing systems is that while their superconducting qubits live in a cryogenic enclosure at less than 1 kelvin, all the control and readout circuits must be at room temperature. For today’s sub-100-qubit systems, there’s enough space for specialized RF cabling to come in and out of the enclosure. But to scale up to the million-qubit systems needed to do really cool stuff, there just won’t be enough room.
So quantum computer engineers want to bring some of those electronics inside the cryogenic fridge. In a first step, researchers at Google, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and the University of California Santa Barbara reported making a key control circuit in CMOS that will work at cryogenic temperatures. The circuit they described at the IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference in San Francisco last month is a high-performance, low-power pulse modulator needed to program the qubits. It is the first disclosed instance of a CMOS cryogenic quantum control IC interacting with real qubits.
Tomi Engdahl says:
QUANTUM PHYSICS COULD PROTECT THE GRID FROM HACKERS—MAYBE
https://www.wired.com/story/quantum-physics-protect-grid/amp
Tomi Engdahl says:
Scientists Have “Reversed Time” Inside A Quantum Computer, And The Implications Are Huge
https://www.iflscience.com/physics/scientists-have-reversed-time-inside-a-quantum-computer-and-the-implications-are-huge/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Physicists Reverse Time Using Quantum Computer
https://scitechdaily.com/physicists-reverse-time-using-quantum-computer/
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/9256-kvantti-informaation-vaihto-eteni
Tomi Engdahl says:
An Optimist’s View of the 4 Challenges to Quantum Computing
https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/computing/hardware/an-optimists-view-of-the-4-challenges-to-quantum-computing
The technical challenges are very difficult, but the promise is too great to quit so early in the quantum computing marathon, writes Intel’s Jim Clarke
Quantum computers promise an exponential increase in power compared with today’s classical CMOS-based systems. This increase is of a magnitude that is difficult for the human mind to comprehend. So there is real excitement that quantum computers will deliver benefits that are not possible with today’s systems. With such promise, we are seeing the rise of quantum computing prophets who say that, in just a few years, these machines will have the ability change the world. And conversely, we’re seeing more quantum computing skeptics who say it will never happen.
At Intel, we are taking a pragmatic view of quantum computing.
I believe there are four key challenges that could keep quantum computing from becoming a reality. But if solved, we could create a commercially relevant quantum computer in about 10-12 years, a computer that might change your life or mine.
Qubit Quality: We need to make qubits that we will be able to generate useful instructions or gate operations for on a large scale. As a community, we are not there yet. Even the few qubits in today’s cloud-based quantum computers are not good enough for large scale systems. They still generate errors when running operations between two qubits at a rate that is far higher than what we would need to effectively compute. In other words, after a certain number of instructions or operations, today’s qubits produce the wrong answer when we run calculations. The result we get can be indistinguishable from noise.
Error Correction: Now, because qubits aren’t quite good enough for the scale we need them to operate at, we need to implement error correction algorithms that check and then correct for random qubit errors as they occur. These are complex instruction sets that use many physical qubits to effectively extend the lifetime of the information in the system. Error correction has not yet been proven at scale for quantum computing, but it is a priority area of our research and one that I consider a prerequisite to a full-scale commercial quantum system.
Qubit Control: In order to implement complex algorithms, including error correction schemes, we need to prove that we can control multiple qubits. That control must have low-latency—on the order of 10’s of nanoseconds. And it must come from CMOS-based adaptive feedback control circuits. This is a similar argument to that made in the aforementioned IEEE Spectrum article. However, though it is daunting, I have every reason to believe it is not impossible.
Too Many Wires: Finally, we need to address “fan-out”—or how to scale up the number of qubits within a quantum chip. Today, we require multiple control wires, or multiple lasers, to create each qubit. It is difficult to believe that we could build a million-qubit chip with many millions of wires connecting to the circuit board or coming out of the cryogenic measurement chamber. In fact, the semiconductor industry recognized this problem in the mid-1960s and designated it Rent’s Rule. Put another way, we will never drive on the quantum highway without well designed roads.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tutkijat kehittivät kvanttisimulaattorin
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/9287-tutkijat-kehittivat-kvanttisimulaattorin
Tomi Engdahl says:
Quantum Computing for Computer Scientists
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_Riqjdh2oM
This talk discards hand-wavy pop-science metaphors and answers a simple question: from a computer science perspective, how can a quantum computer outperform a classical computer? Attendees will learn the following:
- Representing computation with basic linear algebra (matrices and vectors)
- The computational workings of qbits, superposition, and quantum logic gates
- Solving the Deutsch oracle problem: the simplest problem where a quantum computer outperforms classical methods
- Bonus topics: quantum entanglement and teleportation
The talk concludes with a live demonstration of quantum entanglement on a real-world quantum computer, and a demo of the Deutsch oracle problem implemented in Q# with the Microsoft Quantum Development Kit.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Quantum Computing With QISKit
https://hackaday.com/2019/04/02/quantum-computing-with-qiskit/
We all know that quantum computing is coming, but it is hard to know how to get started with it. [Mtreinish] suggests Qiskit — an Apache Licensed SDK for developing quantum applications. He has a presentation he gave in Singapore that you can see below, and a notebook you can go through on GitHub. If you are impatient, you can even run the notebook online through Google.
The tools can work against several backends including a simulator or the real hardware available from IBM. The official site has a different notebook you can use as a tutorial.
https://qiskit.org/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Alex Knapp / Forbes:
Zapata Computing, which is building an enterprise software platform for quantum computing, raises $21M Series A led by Prelude Ventures and Comcast Ventures
This Startup Just Raised $21 Million To Bring Quantum Computing To Enterprise Applications
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2019/04/17/this-startup-just-raised-21-million-to-bring-quantum-computing-to-enterprise-applications/#4b301be87cc1
Zapata Computing, a quantum computing software startup that spun out of Harvard, announced Wednesday that it has raised $21 million in a series A round.
Unique among quantum computing startups, Zapata Computing isn’t interested in building quantum computers. Instead, it’s building software applications for those systems, as well as helping large enterprises find solutions where quantum computing makes sense, no matter what hardware that customer is using.
“We’re creating an enterprise-hardened software platform that allows the domain experts to go as deep as they want, as well as abstract to a certain level,” Zapata CEO Chris Savoie explained to me. “This is not for the faint of heart. We’re not out there trying to teach an undergraduate computer science major how to program a quantum computer. We’re years away from that.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
This Quantum Computer Can See the Future — All 16 of Them
https://www.livescience.com/65271-quantum-computer-sees-16-futures.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
Quantum Experiment Sees Two Versions Of Reality Existing At The Same Time
https://www.iflscience.com/physics/quantum-experiment-sees-two-versions-of-reality-existing-at-the-same-time/
Tomi Engdahl says:
A New Approach to Multiplication Opens the Door to Better Quantum Computers
By
KEVIN HARTNETT
April 24, 2019
https://www.quantamagazine.org/a-new-approach-to-multiplication-opens-the-door-to-better-quantum-computers-20190424/
In practice, quantum computers can’t run many programs that classical computers can, because they’re not allowed to selectively forget information. A new algorithm for multiplication shows a way around that problem.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Transforming the work in the future – now reality?
http://remainrealities.com/uncategorized/transforming-the-work-in-the-future-now-realit/
There are perhaps two ingredients required for the observation of quantum behaviour in an object.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2019/05/13/optinen-neurotietokone-aaltoputkista/
Tomi Engdahl says:
How Quantum Computers Could Change the World
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEJBxotcxRw
In this video we’ll take a look at quantum computers and they promise they hold for the future.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Quantum Computers – FULLY Explained!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzL-oXxNGVM
I don’t think I did a good job explaining quantum computers in the last video, so here’s a more detailed explanation.
Tomi Engdahl says:
INTERVIEWICT
‘Quantum computers will soon outperform classical machines’
https://horizon-magazine.eu/article/quantum-computers-will-soon-outperform-classical-machines.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
A Faster Way to Rearrange Atoms Could Lead to Powerful Quantum Sensors
https://spectrum.ieee.org/nanoclast/semiconductors/nanotechnology/a-faster-way-to-rearrange-atoms
Tomi Engdahl says:
Quantum simulation could help flights run on time
https://horizon-magazine.eu/article/quantum-simulation-could-help-flights-run-time.html
A powerful new form of computing could help scientists design new types of materials for nanoelectronics, allow airlines to solve complex logistical problems to ensure flights run on time, and tackle traffic jams to keep cars flowing more freely on busy roads.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Scientists Have “Reversed Time” Inside A Quantum Computer, And The Implications Are Huge
https://www.iflscience.com/physics/scientists-have-reversed-time-inside-a-quantum-computer-and-the-implications-are-huge/
A new study, published in Scientific Reports, is providing an important point of discussion on the subject. An international team of researchers has constructed a time-reversal program on a quantum computer, in an experiment that has huge implications for our understanding of quantum computing. Their approach also revealed something rather important: the time-reversal operation is so complex that it is extremely improbable, maybe impossible, for it to happen spontaneously in nature.
In certain quantum systems it is possible to create a time-reversal operation.
While time reversal programs in quantum computers are unlikely to lead to a time machine (Deloreans are better suited for that), it might have some important applications in making quantum computers more precise in the future.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2019/07/03/suomi-vauhdittaa-kvanttilaskentaa-ibmn-tekniikalla/
Tomi Engdahl says:
How to Turn a Quantum Computer Into the Ultimate Randomness Generator
By
ANIL ANANTHASWAMY
June 19, 2019
https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-to-turn-a-quantum-computer-into-the-ultimate-randomness-generator-20190619/
Pure, verifiable randomness is hard to come by. Two proposals show how to make quantum computers into randomness factories.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Scientists capture image of quantum entanglement for the first time
https://newatlas.com/first-ever-image-quantum-entanglement/60574/
Tomi Engdahl says:
To put a quantum computer on your desk, Intel has a plan unlike any other
https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/intel-quantum-computing-research-lab/
The future of computing is quantum — or so headlines would have you believe. They’re not incorrect. Yet like the flying car, quantum computing is a technology that’s as elusive as it is enchanting. A computer that can go beyond the simple, binary 0s and 1s of today’s ‘classical’ designs opens a new world of possibility, but the technical hurdles are massive, and no one knows how long it’ll take to overcome them.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/intel-quantum-computing-research-lab/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Quantum Supremacy Is Coming: Here’s What You Should Know
https://www.quantamagazine.org/quantum-supremacy-is-coming-heres-what-you-should-know-20190718/
Researchers are getting close to building a quantum computer that can perform tasks a classical computer can’t. Here’s what the milestone will mean.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Researchers Discover What Could Be a New Substrate for Building “Topological” Qubits
https://spectrum.ieee.org/nanoclast/computing/hardware/new-superconductor-for-quantum-computing
Tomi Engdahl says:
What You Need To Know First About The Inexplicable World Of Quantum Computing
https://www.forbes.com/sites/moorinsights/2019/08/18/what-you-need-to-know-first-about-the-inexplicable-world-of-quantum-computing/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.iflscience.com/physics/scientists-discover-a-brandnew-state-of-matter-that-could-improve-quantum-computers/
Tomi Engdahl says:
An important quantum algorithm may actually be a property of nature
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/614259/an-important-quantum-algorithm-may-actually-be-a-property-of-nature/?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_campaign=site_visitor.unpaid.engagement&utm_medium=tr_social&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1568276414
Evidence that quantum searches are an ordinary feature of electron behavior may explain the genetic code, one of the greatest puzzles in biology.
Tomi Engdahl says:
ICYMI: A technique chemists use to understand the organization of atoms has made its way into the realm of number theory. By tracking the way X-rays bounce within a material, researchers are able to divine whether the molecules are orderly or disorderly. Now, computer experiments diffracting light off prime number sequences are highlighting the elusive order in their mysterious patterns and giving us a “crystallographer’s view of what the primes look like.”
https://www.quantamagazine.org/a-chemist-shines-light-on-a-surprising-prime-number-pattern-20180514/
Tomi Engdahl says:
IBM will soon launch a 53-qubit quantum computer
https://techcrunch.com/2019/09/18/ibm-will-soon-launch-a-53-qubit-quantum-computer/
IBM continues to push its quantum computing efforts forward and today announced that it will soon make a 53-qubit quantum computer available to clients of its IBM Q Network. The new system, which is scheduled to go online in the middle of next month, will be the largest universal quantum computer available for external use yet.
The new machine will be part of IBM’s new Quantum Computation Center in New York State, which the company also announced today. The new center, which is essentially a data center for IBM’s quantum machines, will also feature five 20-qubit machines
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google reportedly attains ‘quantum supremacy’
Its quantum computer can solve tasks that are otherwise unsolvable, a report says.
https://www.cnet.com/news/google-reportedly-attains-quantum-supremacy/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Quantum supremacy is coming. It won’t change the world
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/aug/02/quantum-supremacy-computers
If quantum computers are to help solve humanity’s problems, they will have to improve drastically
Tomi Engdahl says:
IBM’s new 53-qubit quantum computer is its biggest yet
The system will go online in October.
https://www.cnet.com/news/ibm-new-53-qubit-quantum-computer-is-its-biggest-yet/?ftag=COS-05-10aaa0a
IBM’s 14th quantum computer is its most powerful so far, a model with 53 of the qubits that form the fundamental data-processing element at the heart of the system. The system, available online to quantum computing customers in October, is a big step up from the last IBM Q machine with 20 qubits and should help advance the marriage of classical computers with the crazy realm of quantum physics.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/googles-quantum-supremacy-render-all-cryptocurrency-military-secrets-breakable
Tomi Engdahl says:
Quantum sensing on a chip
http://news.mit.edu/2019/quantum-sensing-chip-0925
Researchers integrate diamond-based sensing components onto a chip to enable low-cost, high-performance quantum hardware.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mysteriously, the paper describing the breakthrough then disappeared.
Google Claims to Have Achieved “Quantum Supremacy”
https://futurism.com/the-byte/google-achieved-quantum-supremacy
According to a now-deleted paper spotted by the Financial Times on NASA’s Technical Reports Server last week, Google researchers have achieved “quantum supremacy” — in other words, their quantum computer managed to complete a computational task faster than a conventional computer processor. The paper was promptly deleted and Google has yet to confirm the achievement.
https://www.ft.com/content/b9bb4e54-dbc1-11e9-8f9b-77216ebe1f17
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google Claims ‘Quantum Supremacy,’ Marking a Major Milestone in Computing
https://fortune.com/2019/09/20/google-claims-quantum-supremacy/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Googlen kvanttitietokone herätti – tässä katsaus alan tutkimukseen
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2019/09/27/googlen-kvanttitietokone-heratti-tassa-katsaus-alan-tutkimukseen/
Tomi Engdahl says:
What Google’s Quantum Supremacy Claim Means for Quantum Computing
https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/computing/hardware/how-googles-quantum-supremacy-plays-into-quantum-computings-long-game