Stefan Chin of SciShow 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 chandeliers.
…in the last few years, scientists have been racing to build a totally new kind of computer, called a quantum computer, that may spark a revolution.And if you’ve seen any news about this research, you may have also seen that quantum computers have a distinct look. They look like a complicated stack of gold discs and wires hanging from a ceiling.
Chin noted that this design helps keep the setup cool and running smoothly, thanks to a dilution refrigerator at the bottom.
As for that tiered, chandelier-y shape: with each layer, you get more cooling. The top layer is pretty close to room temperature, but the bottom layer is just a fraction of a degree above absolute zero. So that’s where you put the quantum chip. Meanwhile, all the wires you see sticking out of things are there to control input and output signals to and from the qubits, to actually do computations.
Although, as Chin explains, the future of quantum computing may not need refrigeration at all.
Now technically, not every kind of quantum computer needs a dilution refrigerator. Some, for instance, are based on photons…particles of light… and don’t need this sort of cooling. So not every quantum computer actually does look like an expensive chandelier. And scientists may eventually develop the technology in such a way that these huge coolers aren’t really necessary, anymore.
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