Despite the hype and hoopla surrounding the burgeoning field of quantum computing, the technology is still in its infancy. Just a few years ago, researchers were making headlines with rudimentary machines that housed less than a dozen qubits -- the quantum version of a classical computer's binary bit. At IBM's inaugural Index Developer Conference held in San Francisco this week, the company showed off its latest prototype: a quantum computing rig housing 50 qubits, one of the most advanced machines currently in existence.
Quantum computing -- with its ability to calculate and solve algorithms in parallel, at speeds far faster than conventional computers -- promises to revolutionize fields from chemistry and logistics to finance and physics. The thing is, while quantum computing is a technology for the world of tomorrow, it hasn't yet advanced far enough for anyone to know what that world will actually look like.
"People aren't going to just wake up in three or four years, and say, 'Oh okay, now I'm ready to use quantum, what do I have to learn,'" Bob Sutor, VP of IBM Q Strategy and Ecosystem at IBM Research, told Engadget.
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