IBM bloodly loves a bit of quantum computing
IF YOU LIKE BIQ QUANTUM COMPUTERS and cannot lie, then IBM has a treat for you in the form of its Quantum Cloud.
Big Blue has taken its work on quantum computing and come up with a 53-qubit machine. It’s not the biggest in the world of quantum computing willy-waving; that belongs to D-Wave with is Pegasus marines with some 5,000 qubits. Google also has a Quantum computing chip that’s 72-qubits, FYI.
However, it is the largest quantum computer system you can access thanks to the power of the cloud, at least if you’re a member of the IBM Q Network.
The machine will form part of IBM’s new Quantum Computation Centre in the US’ New York State, which will play host to five 20-qubit computers with that figure set to grow to 14.
Access to this qubit clout is a hell of a lot easier than making a quantum computer and them powering and cooling it. But it’s not going to be something the average Jack or Jill will want to use, as really Quantum Cloud is designed for organisations with some seriously complex tasks to handle.
Those include JP Morgan, which uses IBM quantum computing grunt to figure out some complex financial analysis stuff that we don’t really understand, but we suppose it makes people in suits enough dollar to get fancier suits.
And Mitsubishi Chemical also uses Big Blue’s quantum tech to simulate the initial steps of a reaction mechanism between lithium and oxygen in lithium-air batteries, with the idea of making more efficient batteries for mobile devices and electric cars.
If we had a quantum computer, we’d probably just use it to look at a lot of porn in a fashion that makes us feel like we’re in the moment, rather than shamefully self-abusing. Or just play a lot of Mario Kart on a fancy emulator; you may judge, we just don’t care. µ