Intel is dropping big money into quantum computing, announcing a $50 million deal with Delft University over the next decade. The goal: researching the kind of advances that will bring robust quantum computing into reality.
Quantum computing seeks to move beyond binary – information fed through ones and zeros in a logic device. Instead of the bit, it has the qubit. It's composed of ones, zeroes, and the "quantum superposition," a third option which can be in many states at once. Through the quantum superposition, a single qubit can perform multiple tasks. This, in theory, offers up more fast processing speeds and computational power than traditional logic devices, and light-years better encryption.
It won't be easy. The superconductors needed to run it have to be kept at frigid temperatures. Right now the individual units of quantum computing—qubits, or quantum bits, can't be stored on the same circuit, requiring a mess of wires to string together a quantum computer. It's like inventing computing all over again, with the few units that are out there taking up entire rooms.
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