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SciencePhysics & ChemistryThese Drums Beat in Perfect Synchrony Because They’re Quantumly Entangled
Physicists have built two tiny drums, each as large as a human hair is wide, and synchronized their vibrations exactly. They achieved this perfect unison of drums using a quantum mechanics phenomenon known as entanglement—and the drums could be useful for developing quantum computers. The two drums play together with a precision far beyond what … Continued
By Sophia Chen -
SciencePhysics & ChemistryHow Microsoft’s Quantum Boast Went Bust
Microsoft is an outlier among the companies investing in quantum computing research. Unlike Google, IBM, or the handful of startups that have built noisy experimental prototypes out of superconducting circuits, ions, or photons, the company is trying to build a quantum computer by using objects known as Majorana particles—distinctive patterns of electrons in a tiny … Continued
By Sophia Chen -
SciencePhysics & ChemistryPhysicists Are Reinventing the Laser
In the 1950s, when physicists were racing to invent the first laser, they found that the rules of quantum mechanics restricted how pure the color of their light could be. Since then, physicists and engineers have always built lasers with those restrictions in mind. But new theoretical research from two independent groups of physicists indicates … Continued
By Sophia Chen -
SciencePhysics & ChemistryHere, Play With This Quantum Puppet
This week, Colorado-based startup ColdQuanta announced it has put “quantum matter on the cloud.” Which means—what exactly? To unpack this perfect pairing of buzz phrases: By “quantum matter,” ColdQuanta is referring to a collection of tens of thousands of rubidium atoms, cooled to near absolute zero. “On the cloud” means that by filling out an … Continued
By Sophia Chen -
SciencePhysics & ChemistryD-Wave’s New Quantum Computer Is Inscrutable and Open for Business
In theory, quantum computers should be faster at solving many problems compared to classical computers. But because their components are extremely delicate, existing quantum computers are still rudimentary and error-prone, and academic and industry researchers have yet to demonstrate a profitable use for them. In pursuit of commercial applications, companies have built incrementally more complex … Continued
By Sophia Chen -
SciencePhysics & ChemistryThis New Quantum Processor Is Made of Light
Experts are still unclear on what material will make the best quantum computer, but one obscure candidate is gaining traction: infrared light. Earlier this month, quantum computing startup Xanadu, based in Toronto, Canada, put two of its so-called photonic quantum computers on the cloud—the first commercially available devices of their kind. Xanadu’s computers each consist … Continued
By Sophia Chen
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