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IBM Builds A Limited Quantum Computer

Posted by chrisd on from the soon-your-pgp-key-will-be-useless dept.

phr1 writes "IBM has announced and Yahoo has noted that the first working implementation of Shor's factoring algorithm. Using NMR techniques they built a seven-qubit quantum computer and factored the number 15 into the factors 3 and 5. This is by far the most complicated quantum computation ever done. It's quite an amazing feat--many people thought quantum computing was just a theoretical curiosity and Shor's algorithm could never be implemented in practice."

7 of 316 comments (clear)

  1. IBM's largest computer ever by charon_on_acheron · · Score: 4, Funny

    From the Yahoo article:
    "Previously the largest computer IBM had built was based on five atoms."

    So what about the 2 ton behemoths everyone's been buying for years? ;-)

    1. Re:IBM's largest computer ever by Hank+Reardon · · Score: 5, Funny
      So what about the 2 ton behemoths everyone's been buying for years? ;-)
      Big fucking atoms...
      --
      There's so little difference between politics and jihad lately...
  2. Crud! by Pathos78 · · Score: 5, Funny

    And I thought my 4-bit key's were safe!
    Damn the relentless progress of computing!

  3. Meow by KarmaBlackballed · · Score: 5, Funny

    If you put a cat inside this computer, will it die?

    --

    --- -- - -
    Give me LIBERTY, or give me a check.
  4. Almost there! by Black+Parrot · · Score: 5, Funny


    7 Qbits already? That's great! No one should ever need more than 640 Qbits.

    --
    Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
  5. Old news by sharkey · · Score: 5, Funny

    7 qubits!?!? Sheesh, Noah's Ark was 300 qubits long, by 50 wide, by 30 high. And seven is supposed to be impressive thousands of years later?

    --

    --
    "Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
  6. Re:You Heard It Here First... by Traa · · Score: 4, Funny

    please tell us you heard some important dude at IBM claim this growth patern first....

    because I'm not looking forward to calling it cybrpnk's law