Quantum Computing Breakthrough

Japanese scientists have made a breakthrough in quantum computing:

A research team in Japan says it has successfully demonstrated for the first time in the world in a solid-state device one of the two basic building blocks that will be needed to construct a viable quantum computer.

The team has built a controlled NOT (CNOT) gate, which is a fundamental building block for quantum computing in the same way that a NAND gate is for traditional computing.

Research into quantum computers is still in its early days, and experts predict it will be at least 10 years before a viable quantum computer is developed. But if they can be developed, quantum computers hold the potential to revolutionize some aspects of computing because of their ability to calculate in a few seconds what might take a traditional supercomputer millions of years to accomplish.

Remember scientist prediction math – when they tell you a problem can be solved in 1 year, it’ll take 2. Two years really means five. Five means 10, and 10 means they have no earthly idea.