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Quantum Computing Breakthrough in Japan

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the another-step-closer dept.

An anonymous reader writes "A research team funded by NEC and RIKEN, Japan's Institute of Physical and Chemical Research, are the first to demonstrate a Controlled NOT (CNOT) quantum gate. The CNOT gate when coupled with a rotational gate would create a universal gate. The universal gate would be the basis for quantum computing. ETA for the first quantum computers: 10 to 100 years." When quantum computers first come to fruition, the best part will be reminiscing about how terrible computers were "back in the day."

2 of 438 comments (clear)

  1. What is going to run on these computers? by Apoptosis66 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    We are already hitting the limits of how much code can work together without being riddled by bugs. I think we need a advance in programming first.

  2. No more encryption? by Rimbo · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I think that modern encryption schemes could be broken really quickly.

    Imagine what kind of encryption you could do with quantum computing. When the first computers were built, most of the standard methods of encryption became obsolete -- ones that usually involved simple letter-substitution. That wasn't the end of encryption; those same computers enabled new ways to encrypt messages.

    So it stands to reason that the existence of quantum computers would lead to new quantum encryption methods, which would take millions of years for the best quantum computers to crack using brute-force.