• Question: How will you ensure the extremely cold atoms stay cold when running the computer, as computers tend to get hot while they're switched on?

    Asked by trishbeanx to Chris on 17 Jun 2013.
    • Photo: Chris Mansell

      Chris Mansell answered on 17 Jun 2013:

      That’s a clever question. We try to make sure the things we do the atoms don’t heat them too much. There are possibilities to re-cool the atoms or even replace the atoms that have got hot with colder ones.

      Other things can also ruin the working of the computer. These include electric and magnetic fields (even really small ones) and also background light hitting the atoms. Quantum computers are very fragile at the moment. Lots of the research work people are doing nowadays involves trying to make them a bit more tough and reliable.

Comments

  • Photo: trishbeanx

    trishbeanx commented on :

    How exactly would you ‘replace’ the atoms?

  • Photo: trishbeanx

    trishbeanx commented on :

    I watched a video on quantum computers saying that they weren’t a replacement for classical computers – if they won’t ever be used commercially is it worth investing in them?

  • Photo: Chris

    Chris commented on :

    Hi trishbeanx,

    We would have some atoms being used in the computer and some cold atoms standing nearby (e.g. we could have a little reservoir of cold atoms). If one of atoms got hot, we could use a laser to remove it and then another laser to guide a cold atom from the reservoir to where the hot atom was.

  • Photo: Chris

    Chris commented on :

    Hi trishbeanx,

    Quantum computers probably will be used commercially. What the Youtube video may have meant is that whilst quantum computers won’t replace ordinary computers, they do have the potential to work together with ordinary computers (doing the tasks or sub-tasks that ordinary computers find hard). So, to summarise, I think quantum computers will complement rather than compete with ordinary computers.

    Also, in the process of trying to build a quantum computer, physicists are learning a lot about quantum theory, things we probably wouldn’t have learnt if we weren’t trying to build a computer. I saw a survey of physicists that was recently taken at conference and the responses were that thinking about quantum theory from a computational perspective has been a breath of fresh air in the attempt to get to grips with the strange features of quantum phenomena.