Quantum computers move closer
Quantum computers have taken on the status of Holy Grail in the tech world, offering the hope of miniature, cheap supercomputers for every use. Scientists seeking usable applications of subatomic particle physics, however, have dealt mostly in theories until very recently. Two groups of researchers have published the results of their efforts to exploit multiple states of reality, "superposition," and both believe that the enigmatic science can eventually be turned into real products. A group from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and one from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, have both fabricated miniature, superconducting loops that conduct current in two directions simultaneously to produce apparent superposition, the key to quantum bits or qubits.
To read the referring article, click msnbc.com. To go to a site maintained by the Centre for Quantum Computation at the University of Oxford, with tutorials tailored for a range of scientific backgrounds, click qubit.org.
