The World’s First Quantum Computing Integrated Circuit Achieved

Scientists simulated an organic molecule at the atomic scale. What does this mean for the future of quantum computing?

An artist’s conception of the quantum computing integrated circuit, modeling a chain of carbon atoms. The simulated carbon atoms are in red, and the electrons exchanged between carbon atoms are in blue. Source: Silicon Quantum Computing.

In the 1960s, famed theoretical physicist Richard Feynman said that you can’t understand how nature works unless you build matter on the same length scale. He may not have realized it, but he posed a quantum computing challenge. About 60 years later, the challenge was met when a team of scientists at the University of New South Wales Sydney and the company Silicon Quantum Computing created the world’s first quantum computing integrated circuit. The team engineered a quantum processor at the atomic scale that simulated the behavior of a small organic molecule.

Why is this a monumental event in quantum computing and what does it mean for the future of the field? Read on to find out more!

A “ball and stick” model of polyacetylene, the organic compound simulated using the world’s first quantum computing integrated circuit. Soruce: Ben Mills and Jynto, via Wikimedia Commons.

What happened?

The scientists mimicked the structure and energy states of polyacetylene, a small organic molecule, using their quantum computing integrated circuit. The integrated circuit is composed of a…