The quantum computing revolution is a step closer

A new way to run a quantum algorithm using much simpler methods than previously thought has been discovered by a team of researchers at the University of Bristol. These findings could dramatically bring forward the development of a 'quantum computer' capable of beating a conventional computer.

Theories show how computing devices that operate according to quantum mechanics can solve problems that conventional (classical) computers, including super computers, can never solve. These theories have been experimentally tested for small-scale quantum systems, but the world is waiting for the first definitive demonstration of a quantum device that beats a classical computer.

Now, researchers from the Centre for Quantum Photonics (CQP) at the University of Bristol together with collaborators from the University of Queensland (UQ) and Imperial College London have increased the likelihood of such a demonstration in the near term by discovering a new way to run a quantum algorithm with much simpler methods than previously thought.