In quantum computing, light may lead the way

Light might be able to play a bigger, more versatile role in the future of quantum computing, according to new research by Yale University scientists.

A team of Yale physicists has coaxed an unprecedented number of light particles, or photons, to behave quantum mechanically, or to assume more than one state simultaneously, such as "alive" and "dead." In this case, the light is in the form of trapped microwave photons. Control over a greater number of photons—more than 100 in this case—raises the possibility that such states of light could play the part of several quantum bits (qubits), the building blocks typically found in a quantum computer. This could potentially minimize the physical scale and cost of building a quantum computer.