Got $5,000 lying around? If so, you could be one of the first people on your block to own a desktop Quantum computer! A machine that would be able to complete complicated calculations that regular computers can’t handle in a fraction of the time.
Discover Magazine sums it up best:
“A Chinese start-up has unveiled plans to sell a desktop quantum computer costing less than $5,000. The new portable device is one of a range called SpinQ, aimed at schools and colleges. It is made by the Shenzhen SpinQ Technology, based in Shenzhen, China.
This is not the company’s first quantum computer. Last year, it started selling a desktop quantum computer for around $50,000. The desk in question would need to be sturdy given that the device weighs a hefty 55kg (121 lbs)—about the weight of a small adult.
But the new machine will be simpler, more portable and cheaper. “This simplified version is expected to be released in the fourth quarter of 2021, such that it can be more affordable for most K-12 schools around the world,” say the team behind the device.
The price of the machine is in stark contrast to commercial quantum computers, which can cost in the region of $10 million and process more than 50 qubits.
By contrast, the SpinQ machine is much less powerful, able to process just 2 qubits, and relies on an entirely different technology called nuclear magnetic resonance. This works by trapping specially selected molecules in a powerful magnetic field and then zapping them with radio frequency pulses to manipulate the spins of the atoms they contain.
After each set of radio pulses, the atoms relax and emit their own radio frequency signals, which reveal their new state. In this way, it is possible to flip the spin of atoms—equivalent to changing a 0 into 1 – and make the spins of neighboring atoms interact, which can simulate mathematical operations, and finally to record the result.
The compound at the heart of the SpinQ machine is dimethylphosphite, a tetrahedral molecule consisting of one phosphorous atom, one hydrogen atom, an oxygen and two CH3O groups. This takes the form of colorless liquid at room temperature.about:blankabout:blank
Dimethylphosphite is ideal because the phosphorous and hydrogen atoms are bonded to each other and close enough to interact while also capable of being manipulated independently.
To ensure that the radio signals from the hydrogen and phosphorus atoms are strong enough to pick up, a huge number of molecules must be used, about 10^15 of them. That requires a few drops of liquid, which sit in a small vial in the middle of the powerful magnetic field.
The technique is well understood and has long been used to make medical images of the body. Indeed, the first quantum computers built in the 1990s used exactly the same approach.”
While we may still be years away from commercializing really advanced Quantum computers of the 50 qubit caliber the idea of being able to own a desktop Quantum computer at all at this stage of the game is still very exciting.
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