{"id":93552,"date":"2021-02-26T17:10:57","date_gmt":"2021-02-26T23:10:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=93552"},"modified":"2021-02-26T17:10:57","modified_gmt":"2021-02-26T23:10:57","slug":"superconductor-experts-at-fermilab-lead-efforts-to-build-revolutionary-quantum-computers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/superconductor-experts-at-fermilab-lead-efforts-to-build-revolutionary-quantum-computers\/","title":{"rendered":"Superconductor experts at Fermilab lead efforts to build revolutionary quantum computers"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Shivani Majmudar and Grace Rodgers\u00a0<\/strong>
\nMedill Reports<\/em><\/p>\n

The Fermilab National Accelerator Laboratory, just west of Chicago, is leading one of five national centers to advance quantum computing — a move to speed up computational science and technology while harnessing vast new levels of information.<\/p>\n

Taking a multidisciplinary approach, working in collaboration with 19 scientific, academic and industrial partners, Fermilab is posed to make revolutionary breakthroughs in quantum science far beyond what is currently possible. Its new Superconducting Quantum Materials and Systems Center was selected in August to receive $115 million federal dollars over the next five years.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re working to build the world\u2019s most advanced quantum computer — a machine that promises unparalleled computing power to deliver solutions to complex problems within seconds instead of years, according to SQMS Deputy Director James Sauls, Ph.D., a physicist with Northwestern University.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe implication of solving very hard problems such as factoring very large numbers would really have an enormous impact on the finance industry and national security apparatus,\u201d Sauls said.<\/p>\n

Quantum computers differ from traditional computer systems at an elementary level. The basic unit for computing and information processing in traditional computers is called a \u201cbit\u201d, which can exist as one of two distinctstates: zero and one. Quantum computers are instead based on quantum bits, or \u201cqubits\u201d. Qubits can be at either voltage state — or a combination of the two. Processing at this \u201csuperposition\u201d state is what would give quantum computing its technological edge because its qubits can complete exponentially more operations as traditional bits.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we had two qubits coupled together, we could perform four numerical operations on those bits, whereas it would just be two for that of two classical bits. If we had three qubits, we could perform eight parallel computations. Four, 16, and so forth,\u201d Sauls explained.<\/p>\n

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One aspect of quantum technology that makes building a quantum computer really challenging is how small the atoms are, Sauls said. Typically, atoms are about one nanometer, which is less than one billionth of a meter. For scale, this is one superconducting qubit next to a United States penny. (Reidar Hahn\/FERMILAB)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Beyond its mathematical potential, which alone could have transformative impacts in multiple industries from cybersecurity to pharmaceutical research, quantum technology is also being used to advance material science and our understanding of fundamental particles in the universe.<\/p>\n

Sam Posen, Ph.D., a scientist at Fermilab, is hoping to apply quantum science to detect huge clouds of physical matter in the atmosphere that modern technology can\u2019t see — something proposed to bedark matter.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can take this wonderful technology that is being developed to look at these very sensitive low energy systems, quantum computing systems, and apply it to the problem of searching for new particles predicted by theorists,\u201d Posen said. \u201cIt’s very synergistic.\u201d<\/p>\n

For a breakdown on the science of dark matter, watch the video below.<\/p>\n