Quantum Computing just got desktop sized (opens in new tab)

(redsharknews.com)

24 pointsax0ar4y ago9 comments

9 comments

7 comments · 3 top-level

barbegal4y ago· 4 in thread

What they fail to mention is that the bulk of a modern quantum computer is the cooling system required to keep the quantum chip at below 1 degree Kelvin.

Quantum computers can only come out of lab environments once they can run at sensible temperatures achievable by a small cooling system.

PopePompus4y ago

And there's not much reason to make one "desktop size" until one of the laboratory size quantum computers actually does a useful calculation faster than a traditional computer could have.

soganess4y ago

NISQ-era QC machines are just too noisy to really be that useful without a lot of legwork, regardless of speed.

AWS has machines available right now. Translating from qiskit to braket isn't rocket science either, but no one is clamoring to use them. It is hard to convince someone to take QC seriously for at-home use we can't even guarantee 1 logical qubit.

Still, every step counts and I'm really excited to see this one.

1 more reply

mikewave4y ago

The problem there is that heat is noise, and the balmy 300 Kelvin environment next to my workstation is a very noisy place indeed. So far, qubits seem to demonstrate the ability to actually be in a superposition of states only when we get them extremely cold so as to remove as much noise as possible from the system. This doesn't seem to be changing anytime soon, at least in the realm of superconducting qubits!

It's not actually a problem at this point, because cryogenics technology is really advanced, to some extent commoditized - if you want a fridge, you can buy one, though at D-Wave we've pushed the state of the art on these systems far past what you'd get off the shelf, to the extent where we've had production systems spend years cold with only routine maintenance.

For the foreseeable future, it makes way more sense to interact with a quantum computer remotely, the same way you interact with your Hadoop cluster or your GPU farm; you don't want to work right next to it, it's noisy, and unfortunately unlike a Cray it doesn't provide built-in seating. I should know, there are a large number of these machines a stone's throw from my desk...

latenightcoding4y ago

It depends on the implementation. e.g: this is not a requirement for optical QCs

powera4y ago

Neither this article nor the article it is paraphrasing ( https://www.cambridgeindependent.co.uk/business/world-first-... ) appear to say anything about what "quantum computing" their system is doing, or why anyone would prefer to use it over a classical computer.

There's plenty of hype ("better batteries"), but no details on what it can actually do now or in the next 5 years.

hugle4y ago

Does that mean we can bring a cluster of quantum laptop to ISS and run them at the space station and attack the bitcoin blockchain? Sounds like a valuable mission.

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