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Commercial quantum computer fails to impress in new test
D-Wave machine runs no faster than traditional computer in head-to-head challenge
QUANTUM BLACK BOX The D-Wave Two quantum computer, seen here, solves problems with over 500 superconducting circuits called qubits chilled to 0.02 degrees Celsius above absolute zero.
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A comprehensive new test that pits the performance of traditional computers against quantum ones reveals that the machine marketed as the first commercially available quantum computer holds no speed advantage in its ability to solve a certain type of problem.
Since the 1980s, physicists have aspired to build a quantum computer. Using quantum bits, or qubits, which can be both 0 and 1 simultaneously, these computers should be capable of performing certain tasks far faster than traditional computers (SN: 3/10/12, p. 26).
