'Quantum computing breakthrough' made by IBM scientists
IBM Research scientists said they have achieved a major advance in quantum computing that will allow engineers to begin work on creating a full-scale quantum computer.
The breakthrough allowed scientists to reduce data error rates in elementary computations while maintaining the integrity of quantum mechanical properties in quantum bits of data, known as qubits.
The creation of a quantum computer would mean data processing power would be exponentially increased over what is possible with today's conventional CPUs, according to Mark Ketchen, the manager of physics of information at the IBM's TJ Watson Research Center. A qubit, like today's conventional bit, can have two possible values: a 0 or a 1. The difference is that a bit must be a 0 or 1, and a qubit can be a 0, 1, or a superposition of both.