Some physicists in Maryland recently have demonstrated that quantum computing may not be as stuck solely in science fiction as we might believe. Peter Maunz has a led a team in researching how to use matter qubits to store information; previous teams had been using photons. After entangling two ions of ytterbium and using microwave radiation to store a one or a zero in each, the team was able to pull out both a zero and a one. That final information was obtained by shooting the ions with a laser, which caused each to emit a photon, which was analyzed to obtain the data.
The fact that the qubit can hold a state of both zero and one at a time under this protocol is a massive leap forward for computing as it massively increases the power with which we can compute data. Traditional bits can only hold a zero or a one, so the ability to have both at once is a pretty big deal; it’s sort of groundbreaking considering how it alters the way in which computers have operated from their first invention until now.
(Original story via PhysOrg)
