IBM researchers are making further advances towards the creation of a quantum computer, making 3 new records in the reduction of errors and retaining of integrity in quantum bits.
Quantum bits (aka "qubits") are the basic units in quantum computing, storing "1" and "0" (the elemental units in traditional computing" at the same time. IBM is using "supercomputing qubits," a research field using current silicon-making techniques in the hopes to eventually manufacture thousands (or millions) of qubits. Currently the IBM team has managed to improve superconducting qubit performance by a factor of 2 to 4.
What is so special about qubits? By making use of the physics-breaking properties of quantum mechanics (such as holding 2 states at the same time, or "superposition"), qubits can create computers able to handle millions of computations at once.
"A single 250-qubit state contains more bits of information than there are atoms in the universe," IBM says.
However qubits "decohere" very easily, turning into regular digital bits. To solve this, IBM is working on solutions using superconductivity, where if certain materials (such as aluminium and niobium) show zero electrical resistance when cooled to very low temperatures.
What will happen should IBM and its likes manage to create a working quantum computer? Such a machine can crack the strongest encryption algorithms, solve previously unsolvable mathematical problems or search through immense amounts of "big data" in seconds. But for now, research has to go on, and on...
Go IBM Research Advances Device Performance for Quantum Computing
