Quantum computers, once the concept becomes a working reality, will help humanity to solve complex problems, such as modelling detailed chemical processes which could be key to new medicine discovery. A quantum computer is a type of computer that directly leverages the laws of quantum mechanics to do a calculation. Quantum computing harnesses the peculiar ability of subatomic particles to exist in more than one state at any time, as Wired summarizes. Quantum computing uses quantum bits (qubits) which can exist with two states and this allows qubits to store much more information than any conventional computer.
To become even more powerful, future-state quantum computers could be connected via an optical fiber network. To do this will be challenging, but a breakthrough has been announced by the Australian National University. This takes the form of a tiny camera lens. The lens is is 100 times thinner than a human hair and it could serve to allow for the rapid and reliable transfer of quantum information from the new-age computers to a network.
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The lens, developed by Dr. Kai Wang and his team, has been fashioned from silicon film, composed of millions of nano-structures coming together to form a metasurface. Tests indicate that the lens can can control light with functionalities outperforming traditional systems. This should have the ability to manipulate quantum light.
The development of the lens has been published in the journal Science. The research paper is headed “Quantum metasurface for multiphoton interference and state reconstruction.”
In related quantum computing news, technologists from the Netherlands have successfully developed nanowires which enable individual electrons to be captured by a ‘quantum dot’ on which superconductivity can take place. These nanowires could be the basis for powerful quantum computers.
