Quantum computing machine under scrutiny

A new and innovative computing machine is currently attracting a great deal of attention in specialist circles. A team under the leadership of Matthias Troyer, a professor at ETH Zurich, has now confirmed that the machine uses quantum effects. However, it is not any faster than a traditional computer.

D-Wave – a special computing machine with this name has been getting computer scientists and physicists talking for a number of years now. The Canadian technology company of the same name is advertising the machine as a quantum computer. However, whether or not the machine does in fact use quantum effects is the subject of controversial debate amongst experts in the field. If it does, then this would make D-Wave the world's first commercially available quantum computer.