An experimental Microsoft computer chip under development will deliver a one-two tech punch, according to the company.
The first blow is a statement that Microsoft scientists have developed the first-ever quantum-computing chip in its class. This form of computing could theoretically make, ahem, quantum leaps in both speed and number of calculations a computer could perform simultaneously.
The physics that theoretically would power such a chip is hard to understand — even for some physicists.
“Quantum refers to the scale of atoms and molecules where the laws of physics as we experience them break down and a different, counterintuitive set of laws apply,” Daniel Lidar, a University of Southern California scientist wrote in an article. “Quantum computers take advantage of these strange behaviors to solve problems.”
Quantum Leaps and New State of Matter
The second sock is that the chip uses a new state of matter — neither solid, liquid, nor gas — to help power that chip. The company has published intermediate findings from experiments of this new matter, which it calls a “topological superconductor.”
However, the company hasn’t yet conclusively proven such a state of matter exists. Scientific reactions have so far varied from cautiously optimistic to expressing varying degrees of skepticism in an accompanying news article.
Scientists often say that great claims demand great evidence. It’s safe to say that a new class of matter would fall into that category.
Superconductivity Skepticism
Also, research about superconductivity — whose goal is to enable electricity to flow without any resistance at room temperature — has been controversial. Such speed would enable quicker computing. But several peer-reviewed articles claiming to have achieved some form of it have been retracted — including one from a research group associated with Microsoft.
Still, if the chip the company named Majorana 1 and the material that powers it eventually passes scientific scrutiny and reaches the market, it could revolutionize computing.
How Does Majorana 1 Work?
The company claims that the topological superconductor makes electrons in materials resistant to noise, which, in turn would theoretically let electricity flow through them unheeded. The new chip would use that material as a building block.
The company aims to create building blocks containing a million qubits. Qubits are individual units that demonstrate quantum properties. The company’s aim is to create a machine built of a million qubits. Such a machine could theoretically perform a massive amount of operations rapidly.
“All the world’s current computers operating together can’t do what a one-million-qubit quantum computer will be able to do,” according to an article on Microsoft’s website.
The world — especially quantum physicists and material scientists — will anxiously await more evidence that such a machine can exist.
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Before joining Discover Magazine, Paul Smaglik spent over 20 years as a science journalist, specializing in U.S. life science policy and global scientific career issues. He began his career in newspapers, but switched to scientific magazines. His work has appeared in publications including Science News, Science, Nature, and Scientific American.
