Australian scientists are said to have made a breakthrough in quantum computing after they were able to make two atom qubits ‘talk’ to each other.
The study, which was led by researchers from the University of New South Wales, involved creating qubits by precisely positioning individual phosphorus atoms in a silicon chip.
Quantum bits, or qubits, are a unit of measure for quantum information.
Once positioned, the scientists were able to get the qubits to communicate and correlate with each other.
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Pictured is an artist’s impression of two ‘qubits’ or quantum bits. Scientists at the University of New South Wales were able to control the interaction of these qubits to make them ‘talk’
The move is being heralded as a ‘significant milestone’ in the broader effort to build a world-beating quantum computer.
Building a quantum computer has been called the ‘space race of the 21st century’ – a difficult and ambitious challenge, with the potential to deliver revolutionary tools.
The team of researchers, which is led by Australian of the year Michelle Simmons, is the only group in the world that can see the exact position of their qubits, according to a release from the University of New South Wales.
‘Our competitive advantage is that we can put our high-quality qubit where we want it in the chip, see what we’ve made, and then measure how it behaves,’ Simmons explained……Read more: