{"id":166511,"date":"2025-09-24T19:48:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T19:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/166511\/"},"modified":"2025-09-24T19:48:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T19:48:10","slug":"why-quantum-computer-prototypes-look-like-steampunk-chandeliers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/166511\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Quantum Computer Prototypes Look Like Steampunk Chandeliers"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

Stefan Chin<\/a> of SciShow<\/a> explained the complex concept of quantum computing, how it has evolved over the past decades, its portrayal in science fiction, and why prototypes for the new quantum computers look like Steampunk<\/a> chandeliers.<\/p>\n

\u2026in the last few years, scientists\u00a0 have been racing to build a totally new kind of computer, called a quantum\u00a0computer, that may spark a revolution.And if you\u2019ve seen any news about this research, you may have also seen that quantum\u00a0 computers have a distinct look. They look like a complicated stack of gold\u00a0 discs and wires hanging from a ceiling. <\/p>\n

Chin noted that this design helps keep the setup cool and running smoothly, thanks to a dilution refrigerator at the bottom.<\/p>\n

As for that tiered, chandelier-y shape:\u00a0 with each layer, you get more cooling. The top layer is pretty close to room temperature, but the bottom layer is just a fraction\u00a0 of a degree above absolute zero. So that\u2019s where you put the quantum chip. Meanwhile, all the wires you see sticking\u00a0 out of things are there to control input and output signals to and from the\u00a0qubits, to actually do computations.<\/p>\n

Although, as Chin explains, the future of quantum computing may not need refrigeration at all.<\/p>\n

Now technically, not every kind of quantum\u00a0 computer needs a dilution refrigerator. Some, for instance, are based\u00a0 on photons\u2026particles of light\u2026 and don\u2019t need this sort of cooling. So not every quantum computer actually\u00a0 does look like an expensive chandelier. And scientists may eventually\u00a0 develop the technology in such a way that these huge coolers\u00a0 aren\u2019t really necessary, anymore.<\/p>\n

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