
Quantum Computing, Capabilities and Limits: An Interview with Scott Aaronson - alberto_ol
https://gigaom.com/2019/01/17/quantum-computing-capabilities-and-limits-an-interview-with-scott-aaronson/
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leereeves
Lots of progress in this field lately. Google, IBM, and Intel all say they've
built experimental QCs or quantum processors with 50-70 qubits, and a startup
called Rigetti plans a QC with 120 qubits. And Microsoft seems to be betting
big on exotic physics (Majorana fermions) that could create far more stable
qubits, in theory.

With all this investment, quantum computing may be coming soon.

ETA: links

[https://www.technologyreview.com/s/609451/ibm-raises-the-
bar...](https://www.technologyreview.com/s/609451/ibm-raises-the-bar-
with-a-50-qubit-quantum-computer/)

[http://ai.googleblog.com/2018/03/a-preview-of-bristlecone-
go...](http://ai.googleblog.com/2018/03/a-preview-of-bristlecone-googles-
new.html)

[https://newsroom.intel.com/press-kits/quantum-
computing/#49-...](https://newsroom.intel.com/press-kits/quantum-
computing/#49-qubit-processor)

[https://medium.com/rigetti/the-rigetti-128-qubit-chip-and-
wh...](https://medium.com/rigetti/the-rigetti-128-qubit-chip-and-what-it-
means-for-quantum-df757d1b71ea)

~~~
randomsearch
50-70 qubit quantum computers? Surely not. Maybe “quantum devices” but not
actual computers capable of general computation?

~~~
9h12dqe
This is a good resource for keeping track of viability.

[https://quantumcomputingreport.com/scorecards/qubit-
quality/](https://quantumcomputingreport.com/scorecards/qubit-quality/)

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jerf
"if you’re doing superconducting qubits, which is maybe the most popular
approach today, then at a bare minimum, you need to cool everything down to 10
mKB,"

Anyone know what that temperature is supposed to be? Googling for "mkb"
doesn't come up with anything I can scrounge up. mK for milli-Kelvin doesn't
make much sense, as you don't need to get that low for superconductivity in
general, and that's a pretty hard temperature to reach.

~~~
Sniffnoy
Yup, he meant 10 milliKelvin:
[https://www.scottaaronson.com/blog/?p=4121#comment-1804067](https://www.scottaaronson.com/blog/?p=4121#comment-1804067)

~~~
jerf
Thank you, and thank you to the other repliers who answered. I have learned
something today.

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ivan_ah
Wow! This is the best explainer of quantum computing I have ever read. Scott
does a great job at capturing the essential challenges and potential
applications, without embellishing or being overly pessimistic. Good stuff.

~~~
randomsearch
Scott he the quantum man. Checkout his blog for more
[https://www.scottaaronson.com/blog/](https://www.scottaaronson.com/blog/)

~~~
mcguire
But stay away from his talks. His "uh" to word ratio is ~1.

~~~
jimhefferon
One of the world's smartest folks. In one of the world's most interesting
fields. Is kind enough to take time away from his research, and his family, to
share with us dummies.

Not a world-class deliverer of speeches. Seems like a forgivable flaw to me.

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puranjay
I understood some of it, but quite a bit of it went over my head. Is there a
more detailed resource for understanding quantum computing for a layman?

~~~
mattferderer
Try this video -
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWJCfOvochA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWJCfOvochA)

I found it easy to comprehend. It starts explaining to a child & works its way
up to a doctorate level.

