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OnCBS 60 Minutestonight, there was a fascinating look at the quantum computing revolution currently being developed at places like Google, IBM, Microsoft, and Honeywell. Unlike conventional computers using transistors in which each bit of information is binary (0 or 1), quantum computers use superconducting qubits at a temperature near absolute zero (-460F) in which individual electrons can store information over an infinite range of values, so linking these qubits permits an exponential increase in computing power, rather than just a linear increase with transistors. For example, while we can now produce computer chips containing over a trillion transistors, an equivalent quantum computing power can be obtained with just 40 qubits linked together (2^40).

The main technological challenge is maintaining a quantum coherence between these qubits, but tomorrow IBM will be unveiling its Quantum System Twowhich has three times the number of qubits as its first prototype. Some of the key exchanges from the 60 Minutes piece:

Mitigating those errors and extending coherence time while scaling up to larger machines are the challenges facing German-American scientist Hartmut Neven, who founded Google's lab, and its casual style, in 2012.

Scott Pelley:Can the problems that are in the way of quantum computing be solved?

Hartmut Neven: I should confess, my subtitle here is chief optimist. After having said this, I would say at this point, we don't need any more fundamental breakthroughs. We need little improvements here and there. If we have all the pieces together, we just need to integrate them well to build larger and larger systems.

Scott Pelley: And you think that all of this will be integrated into a system in what period of time?

Hartmut Neven: Yeah. We often say we wanna do it by the end of the decade so that we can use this Kennedy quote, "Get it done by the end of the decade."

Scott Pelley: The end of this decade?

Hartmut Neven: Yes.

IBM's Dario Gil told us System Two has the room to expand to thousands of qubits.

Scott Pelley: What are the chances that this is one of those things that's gonna be ready in five years and always will be?

Dario Gil: We don't see an obstacle right now that would prevent us from building systems that will have tens of thousands and even a 100 thousand qubits working with each other. So we are highly confident that we will get there.

This is a truly mind-blowing look at the future of computing, and the implications are absolutely staggering. For more background info on this subject, I would recommend Michio KakusQuantum Supremacy.

Continued here:
The Quantum Computing Revolution on 60 Minutes - Daily Kos