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originally posted by: Bedlam
The bigger issue is that the D-Wave isn't properly a quantum computer. It's a hardware implementation of simulated annealing. That's useful for some problems, but it's not actually going to be doing a lot of code breaking.
Ned Allen sent D-Wave a sample problem to run on its system. It was a 30-year-old chunk of code from an F-16 aircraft with an error that took Lockheed Martin’s best engineers several months to find. Just six weeks after sending it to D-Wave, the software error was identified.
In late 2010 Lockheed Martin became the first D-Wave customer. Their D-Wave One system, which is the first commercially available quantum computer in the world, was installed at USC’s Information Sciences Institute so that they could explore its potential.
Near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville and Wilbur Wright make the first successful flight in history of a self-propelled, heavier-than-air aircraft. Orville piloted the gasoline-powered, propeller-driven biplane, which stayed aloft for 12 seconds and covered 120 feet on its inaugural flight
D-Wave Systems Inc., the world's first quantum computing company, today announced that it has broken the 1000 qubit barrier, developing a processor about double the size of D-Wave’s previous generation and far exceeding the number of qubits ever developed by D-Wave or any other quantum effort. This is a major technological and scientific achievement that will allow significantly more complex computational problems to be solved than was possible on any previous quantum computer.
D-Wave’s quantum computer runs a quantum annealing algorithm to find the lowest points, corresponding to optimal or near optimal solutions, in a virtual “energy landscape.” Every additional qubit doubles the search space of the processor. At 1000 qubits, the new processor considers 21000 possibilities simultaneously, a search space which dwarfs the 2512 possibilities available to the 512-qubit D-Wave Two. In fact, the new search space contains far more possibilities than there are particles in the observable universe.
Lower Operating Temperature: While the previous generation processor ran at a temperature close to absolute zero, the new processor runs 40% colder. The lower operating temperature enhances the importance of quantum effects, which increases the ability to discriminate the best result from a collection of good candidates.
Reduced Noise: Through a combination of improved design, architectural enhancements and materials changes, noise levels have been reduced by 50% in comparison to the previous generation. The lower noise environment enhances problem-solving performance while boosting reliability and stability.
Increased Control Circuitry Precision: In the testing to date, the increased precision coupled with the noise reduction has demonstrated improved precision by up to 40%. To accomplish both while also improving manufacturing yield is a significant achievement.
Advanced Fabrication: The new processors comprise over 128,000 Josephson junctions (tunnel junctions with superconducting electrodes) in a 6-metal layer planar process with 0.25μm features, believed to be the most complex superconductor integrated circuits ever built.
New Modes of Use: The new technology expands the boundaries of ways to exploit quantum resources. In addition to performing discrete optimization like its predecessor, firmware and software upgrades will make it easier to use the system for sampling applications.
originally posted by: Freenrgy2
a reply to: neoholographic
I'll be amazed when quantum computing can cure cancer, eliminate most disease and create a plethora of new materials.
originally posted by: neoholographic
This is just not the case and I'm sure you got this from a Wired article that was actually pretty good because it looked at both sides of the argument.
D-Wave Systems has broken the quantum computing 1000 qubit barrier, developing a processor about double the size of D-Wave’s previous generation, and far exceeding the number of qubits ever developed by D-Wave or any other quantum effort, the announcement said.
It will allow “significantly more complex computational problems to be solved than was possible on any previous quantum computer.”
At 1000 qubits, the new processor considers 21000 possibilities simultaneously, a search space which dwarfs the 2512 possibilities available to the 512-qubit D-Wave Two. ”In fact, the new search space contains far more possibilities than there are particles in the observable universe.”
Greg Tallant, who leads USC’s Lockheed Martin Quantum Computation Center, said in statement the defence contractor would use the new system to “address the real-world problems being faced by our customers.”
D-Wave has also sold the new 1,000 qubit system, which hit the market in August, to an artificial intelligence lab operated by Google, NASA and the Universities Space Research Association.
It also secured a deal last week with the Los Alamos National Laboratory to help it further its research into high-performance computing.
originally posted by: neoholographic
Why buy a quantum computer to address real world problems if it's not a quantum computer LOL??Just get you some real powerful classical computers and solve these real world problems.
originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: VoidHawk
Actually, with binary coding, the 8080 did pretty well.
A real pain doing the input for the code. And of course, the cassette deck...that was another matter.
pastraiser.com...
Written in machine code it was to fast to be able to see it! That was one of those WOW!!! moments. I was hooked
Yup. Poke...poke...poke. Goddam membrane keyboard.
I used to input huge strings of hex via the basic.
originally posted by: FormOfTheLord
I want a quantum computer in every cell phone! Then and only then will I be a little impressed. . . . .
originally posted by: FormOfTheLord
I want a quantum computer in every cell phone! Then and only then will I be a little impressed. . . . .
Don't the quantum computers run a few degrees above absolute zero? By the time you got the cooling and insulation in place, I think it would have to be even larger than the old "bricks" people used to carry around for portable phones, and probably a lot larger than that unless there's some cooling and insulating tech I'm not familiar with. You might fit that cooling and insulation in a cell phone of this size:
originally posted by: Bedlam
Quantum computing isn't sequential processing like an Arm core, it's more for number crunching.
Researchers at UT Arlington have created the first electronic device that can cool electrons to -228 degrees Celsius (-375F), without any kind of external cooling. The chip itself remains at room temperature, while a quantum well within the device cools the electrons down cryogenic temperatures.