Nanotechnology Now - Press Release: Training quantum computers: physicists win prestigious IBM Award

The global race to master quantum computing is heating up. Both the tech industry and a huge scientific community are navigating multiple avenues with one common objective: the creation of an extremely powerful and universally functional quantum computer. Quantum computing holds the potential to propel advances in areas like artificial intelligence and machine learning. Unlike conventional computers that operate using bits limited to logical states of just 0 or 1, quantum computers utilize quantum bits, or qubits for short. A qubit can exist in countless intermediate states – a phenomenon known as superposition. Until now, however, these intermediate states have been extremely fragile and decay rapidly. Researchers hope to change this by achieving stability in these quantum states and harnessing the power of numerous qubits.