WHATCH: Quantum computing explained in less than 2 minutes

Now you can explain it to your
friends.

For decades now, scientists
have been trying to figure out
how we can use the enormous
potential of quantum mechanics
to build a whole new
generation of computers. While
your brand new iMac might run
like a dream, it basically works
the same as computers that
were built 80 years ago - a
series of electrical circuits
that switch on and off on
command. The problem with our
current computers is that we're
close to hitting the limit for
how advanced they can get,
but the good news is we now
have all the building blocks for
a quantum computer, we just
need to make it run.

According to Microsoft's
research lab, we could crack
the quantum computing code
within the next 10 years, so
it's about time we understood
exactly what that means,
right? The Verge has put
together a video that breaks
down the basics of quantum
computing so you can see where
we've been, and where we're
headed. Our current computers
use electrical circuits as bits,
but quantum computers will run
on quantum bits, or 'qubits',
as they're called.

Unlike an electrical circuit,
qubits are tiny particles that
are magnetically suspended in
an extremely cold environment
- fractions of a degree above
absolute zero. What's so clever
about this is that by keeping
these particles in a state of
superposition, they can
simultaneously take on the role
of both the 0 and the 1
in binary code , which is how
our current computer processors
know what to do.
Fiona MacDonald explained
earlier this month:
"Right now, regular
computer chips store
information as binary bits,
which are either in a 0 or 1
state. This system works
well, but it means that
there's a finite amount of
data that can be processed.
Qubits, on the other hand,
can be in the state of 0, 1,
or both at the same time,
which gives quantum
computers unprecedented
processing power... if we
can work out how to build
them."

A particle that can take on the
role of both 0 and 1 allows for
something known as quantum
speed-up to occur. As the video
explains, quantum speed-up
sees each qubit increase
computing power exponentially,
so if you can pack enough
qubits in your machine, you
can have a processor that out-
runs anything we have right
now. And while we probably
don't need our emails to load
many times faster than they
already do, this will change
everything for researchers who
rely on the timely processing
of huge amounts of data.
Fortunately, both Google and
Microsoft are extremely
invested in the idea of quantum
computers, because they've got
a whole lot of data they'd like
to tackle, so they've got some
of the world's best quantum
scientists holed up trying to
figure out how we clear the
final hurdles. And here in
Australia, engineers at the
University of New South Wales
(UNSW) have just figured out
how to build a quantum logic
gate out of silicon for the first
time - a major step forward in
the development of the
technology.

Interestingly, the video above
says a Canadian firm called D-
Wave has already sold quantum
computers to a number of labs
around the world - Google's
Quantum AI lab has one - but
researchers say these machines
haven't acutally demonstrated
the quantum speed-up effect
yet. D-Wave disagrees. Watch
the video above to find out
what's going on, and get
excited, because we are so
close to cracking this.