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Technologists keep on flirting with the QuantumMechanics in order to accomplish a feat by incarnating quantumcomputer. They have created the first rudimentary solid-state quantumprocessor, taking another step toward the ultimate dream of building aquantum computer. They also used the two-qubit superconducting chip tosuccessfully run elementary algorithms, such as a simple search,demonstrating quantum information processing with a solid-state devicefor the first time. Though the processor can perform only a few verysimple quantum tasks, which have been demonstrated before with singlenuclei, atoms and photons.But this is the first time they've beenpossible in an all-electronic device that looks and feels much morelike a regular microprocessor.The team manufactured twoartificial atoms, or qubits ("quantum bits"). While each qubit isactually made up of a billion aluminum atoms, it acts like a singleatom that can occupy two different energy states. These states are akinto the "1" and "0" or "on" and "off" states of regular bits employed byconventional computers. Because of the counterintuitive laws of quantummechanics, however, scientists can effectively place qubits in a"superposition" of multiple states at the same time, allowing forgreater information storage and processing power.For example,imagine having four phone numbers, including one for a friend, but notknowing which number belonged to that friend. You would typically haveto try two to three numbers before you dialed the right one. A quantumprocessor, on the other hand, can find the right number in only onetry. Instead of having to place a phone call to one number, thenanother number, you use quantum mechanics to speed up the process. It'slike being able to place one phone call that simultaneously tests allfour numbers, but only goes through to the right one.Thesesorts of computations, though simple, have not been possible usingsolid-state qubits until now in part because scientists could not getthe qubits to last long enough. While the first qubits of a decade agowere able to maintain specific quantum states for about ananosecond,physicists are now able to maintain theirs for amicrosecond�a thousand times longer, which is enough to run the simplealgorithms. To perform their operations, the qubits communicate withone another using a "quantum bus"�photons that transmit informationthrough wires connecting the qubits�previously developed.Thekey that made the two-qubit processor possible was getting the qubitsto switch "on" and "off" abruptly, so that they exchanged informationquickly. Next, the team will work to increase the amount of time thequbits maintain their quantum states so they can run more complexalgorithms. They will also work to connect more qubits to the quantumbus. The processing power increases exponentially with each qubitadded, so the potential for more advanced quantum computing isenormous. But he cautions it will still be some time before quantumcomputers are being used to solve complex problems.
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