Quantum Computing Is Nearing A Breakthrough That Will Change Everything
A quantum computing breakthrough by IBM cuts through sub-atomic noise to achieve the most powerful signal imaginable.
Tech giant IBM recently announced that its scientists may have made a major breakthrough in quantum computing that would make it more practical and applicable in real-world settings. According to Futurism, these scientists are testing out an “error mitigation” process that seeks to solve the problem of quantum noise. This is all pretty heady stuff, so let’s try to break it down.
Quantum computing is computing that uses quantum states and mechanics to store information and solve complex problems. Theoretically, this process allows quantum computers to operate on much faster scales than classical computers. However, there are numerous obstacles before it can replace classical computing altogether.
For instance, Google said its quantum computers could outperform classical computers four years ago, but those experiments proved to be difficult to apply to real-world applications, and future experiments proved that classical computers could still outpace Google’s quantum computing. Apparently, IBM may have found a solution with the aforementioned “error mitigation” process. To explain how that works, first, we need to quickly dive into the concept of quantum noise.
Essentially, quantum computing utilizes the quantum concepts known as superposition and entanglement to create superior processing power compared to traditional computers. Superposition allows particles, such as quantum bits in computing, to exist in two separate states at the same time. Meanwhile, entanglement allows two particles to exist in the same space simultaneously.
Essentially these principles mean that there doesn’t need to be as many quantum bits to equal the processing power of classical computer bits. Of course, figuring out quantum computing isn’t so straightforward because these particles can exist in uncertain states and create the aforementioned quantum noise. Quantum noise can cause quantum bits to change state from small environmental factors, which means that working with them isn’t always reliable.
So, how does IBM solve this quantum computing conundrum? The scientists have been conducting experiments with the 127-qubit IBM Eagle processor to run simulations of 127 magnetic, quantum-sized particles in a magnetic field. The researchers have then been introducing additional quantum noise and observing the effects and patterns of the noise on the processor. These observations have allowed them to determine what the quantum processing would have looked like if there wasn’t any noise at all during the computations.
However, IBM was running its quantum computing experiments at an incredibly complicated scale, meaning that classical computers could show similar uncertainties. In other words, it’s hard to compare and show if a classical computer would have performed better than a quantum computer at that level. As a partial solution to this question, the researchers have run smaller-scale experiments as well and showed that the results were more accurate than the classical computers.
As with anything in science, further experiments will be needed to see if this “error mitigation” is indeed a breakthrough in quantum computing. If it is the potential stepping stone they’re talking about, it could certainly mean huge things for the technology and computer industries. Stay tuned for more news on this and other big science breakthroughs.
