IBM''s quantum computation jump
By Our Corporate Bureau | 20 Dec 2001
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Mumbai: Researchers at IBM have said they have used a newly-developed computer to perform "the most complex quantum computation to date," marking a small step in the advance of quantum computing, a technology some think could provide a breakthrough in the development of smaller microchips, news reports from New York say.
IBM scientists have published details in the scientific journal Nature on 19 December of the computation, a demonstration of 'Shor's Algorithm,' a method of factoring numbers that was developed in 1994 by AT&T scientist Peter Shor. It was that algorithm, and the promise it holds for its ability to break large encryption codes, that spurred interest in quantum computing in the 1990s.
Quantum computing, which is based on quantum mechanics, is one of several paths researchers are taking as they strive to make smaller and smaller microchips. Under Moore's Law, which was set forth by Intel co-founder Gordon Moore, the number of transistors on a chip doubles, or alternatively, data density doubles, every 18 months. Squeezing ever-more transistors on ever-smaller chips is getting increasingly difficult, creating the need for new technologies.
In addition to encryption, other applications for quantum computing include data mining, or searching large databases for particular pieces of information. IBM said it has built a new quantum computer based on seven atoms that, because of their physical properties, are able to work together as both the computer's processor and memory. Previously the most powerful quantum computer IBM had built was based on five atoms. A quantum computer is designed around the spin of an electron or atomic nucleus.
IBM scientists say the demonstration of the new machine involved showing that Shor's algorithm works by having the computer correctly identify 3 and 5 as the factors of 15. "Although the answer may appear to be trivial, the unprecedented control required... during the calculation made this the most complex quantum computation performed to date," says Nabil Amer, manager of IBM Research's physics of information group.
John Preskill, professor of theoretical physics and director of the Institute of Quantum Information at CalTech in Pasadena, California, says the experiment brought quantum computing a step forward by revealing errors in the process. "Part of the challenge of building large-scale quantum computers is that they are very susceptible to error, and we need to understand the types of errors that occur in order to know what's the most promising way of building quantum computers."
To put the potential of a quantum computer into perspective, Preskill explains that the fastest computers in existence, supercomputers, could factor — or find the smallest indivisible factors of — a number that is 130 digits long in about a month. But they wouldn't be able to factor a 200-digit number.
A quantum computer could tackle that task, he says, but it would need to include thousands of quantum bits, or atoms. IBM scientists used the computer based on seven atoms to factor a two-digit number. Amer says it is still unclear when quantum computers could become commercially available.
IBM scientists have published details in the scientific journal Nature on 19 December of the computation, a demonstration of 'Shor's Algorithm,' a method of factoring numbers that was developed in 1994 by AT&T scientist Peter Shor. It was that algorithm, and the promise it holds for its ability to break large encryption codes, that spurred interest in quantum computing in the 1990s.Quantum computing, which is based on quantum mechanics, is one of several paths researchers are taking as they strive to make smaller and smaller microchips. Under Moore's Law, which was set forth by Intel co-founder Gordon Moore, the number of transistors on a chip doubles, or alternatively, data density doubles, every 18 months. Squeezing ever-more transistors on ever-smaller chips is getting increasingly difficult, creating the need for new technologies.
In addition to encryption, other applications for quantum computing include data mining, or searching large databases for particular pieces of information. IBM said it has built a new quantum computer based on seven atoms that, because of their physical properties, are able to work together as both the computer's processor and memory. Previously the most powerful quantum computer IBM had built was based on five atoms. A quantum computer is designed around the spin of an electron or atomic nucleus.
IBM scientists say the demonstration of the new machine involved showing that Shor's algorithm works by having the computer correctly identify 3 and 5 as the factors of 15. "Although the answer may appear to be trivial, the unprecedented control required... during the calculation made this the most complex quantum computation performed to date," says Nabil Amer, manager of IBM Research's physics of information group.
John Preskill, professor of theoretical physics and director of the Institute of Quantum Information at CalTech in Pasadena, California, says the experiment brought quantum computing a step forward by revealing errors in the process. "Part of the challenge of building large-scale quantum computers is that they are very susceptible to error, and we need to understand the types of errors that occur in order to know what's the most promising way of building quantum computers."
To put the potential of a quantum computer into perspective, Preskill explains that the fastest computers in existence, supercomputers, could factor — or find the smallest indivisible factors of — a number that is 130 digits long in about a month. But they wouldn't be able to factor a 200-digit number.
A quantum computer could tackle that task, he says, but it would need to include thousands of quantum bits, or atoms. IBM scientists used the computer based on seven atoms to factor a two-digit number. Amer says it is still unclear when quantum computers could become commercially available.
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