The field of quantum computing was launched in 1981, when R…
The field of quantum computing was launched in 1981, when Richard Feynman, speaking at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, pointed out that a quantum computer could, in theory, simulate a molecule or material exactly, rather than just approximately.
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Caltech physicist John Preskill has termed this type of operation “noisy intermediate-scale quantum computing”
Today, rudimentary quantum computers consisting of up to dozens of interconnected qubits can crunch through 100 or so gate operations before crashing.
At the time, it was purely a thought experiment. But by the mid-1990s, physicists had produced qubits and demonstrated quantum logic gates, which are the building blocks of computer operations.
The quantum states of these qubits were easily disturbed by interactions with the environment—a formidable challenge that quantum-computer makers have struggled with ever since.