IBM Says Computer Confirms Value Of Quantum Processing

Scientists at IBM Corp.'s Almaden Research Center in San Jose have developed and tested what the company is calling "the world's most advanced quantum computer." The computer, which derives its processing ability from five fluorine atoms within a molecule, can solve problems that are challenging or impossible for conventional computers, the scientists say. "This result gives us a great deal of confidence in understanding how quantum computing can evolve into a future technology," says Isaac L. Chuang, who led the team of scientists from IBM Research, Stanford University, and the University of Calgary. "It reinforces the growing realization that quantum computers may someday be able to live up to their potential of solving in remarkably short times problems that are so complex that the most powerful supercomputers can't calculate the answers even if they worked on them for millions of years." The computer is being used in research for now. Scientists say commercial use of quantum computers is many years away.