Back in 2013, Google acquired a Canadian company that claimed to have designed a quantum computer. This computer was designed by a company called D-Wave. Ever since Google purchased this company, there has been controversy over the legitimacy of its ability to actually compute things using quantum physics. Optimally a quantum computer should be able to compute answers to optimization problems that would not be able to be computed on a regular computer.
How Does the D-Wave Work?
According to the company’s website, the computer “exploits quantum mechanical effects” and is “built around ‘qubits’ rather than ‘bits'”. It also “operates in an extreme environment” and “enables quantum algorithms to solve very hard problems”. Now what does all this mean? With the evolution of technology we have been creating faster, more powerful and more compact computers. There comes a point when technology physically cannot become any smaller and continue working following the same principles that it always has, hence the necessity to breach the quantum level. This is where qubits come in. In a standard computer, the smallest unit of measurement is a bit. But these are not small enough for the quantum level that uses qubits to store its information. Once quantum computing is perfected, it will allow for processing that has the ability to grow exponentially, in comparison to our average computer. This will make the processing of large data sets exponentially faster. The D-Wave is currently being tested to see if it fits these qualifications.
Their website also states that they use a cooling unit that they have dubbed “The Fridge”. This unit cools the processor down to -273 °C which is 0.015 Kelvin.
Where is this Computer Stored?
This computer is being stored and tested at a facility owned and run by NASA. This facility is called QuAIL (the Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab). At this facility they are testing the computer to both prove its abilities and to solve problems that a normal computer would not be able to handle.
More Information
If you want to find out more about the D-Wave or its controversy check out the MIT Technology Review or Futurism.
Great read. Love the detail & passion behind this post. Just curious – what is the ratio of ‘bits’ to ‘qubits’?
Thanks! The place that I found it most simply explained is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhHMJCUmq28