Physicists have produced the blueprints for a large-scale quantum computer that could propel humanity into the next age of computer technology. Quantum computers have long been seen as the next stage in computing technology. A Sussex University team of international scientists published the paper in the academic journal “Science Advances”. Scientists believe this next generation machine could be many millions of times faster than contemporary computers. If the plans actually work this would mean that a super-fast quantum machine could be built within the next decade with a cost of tens of millions of Euros. “For many years, people said that it was completely impossible to construct an actual quantum computer. With our work we have not only shown that it can be done but now we are delivering a nuts and bolts construction plan to build an actual large-scale machine,” lead scientist Winfried Hensinger said in a statement. The revolutionary potential of quantum computers lies in their ability to work at the atomic level, where an atom can mysteriously exist in two different places at the same time.
This means a qubit – the quantum version of a traditional ‘bit’ of computer information – can be both 1 and 0 at the same time. At the moment, a ‘bit’ can only be 1 or 0.
Scientists believe a computer system that operates on this level can perform many more multiple calculations at one time.