Microsoft's New Quantum Chip, Explained

Microsoft’s new quantum chip could be a huge deal but there’s a big debate about it! Here’s why...

The reason we want quantum computers is they could do new things, like simulate the natural world even better. The reason we don’t have useful ones yet is that they need to be bigger. But the problem is when you make them bigger, they have more errors. That's because the information inside, the “qubits,” are incredibly sensitive and they get disrupted easily.

So Microsoft tried to build a new kind of qubit - a “topological qubit” - where instead of storing the information in one place, they spread it out using a NEW STATE OF MATTER called “majorana quasi-particles.”

That’s awesome because in theory you could get fewer errors with a bigger quantum computer, because if you mess with one part, you still have the information in another!

The big claim in their press release is that they have not only created these new qubits but can control them. BUT nobody outside of Microsoft has seen proof of the controlling part. In their peer reviewed paper, they show results that are consistent with Majorana quasi-particles, but don’t definitively prove that’s what they’re seeing.

So what they’ve already shown is big, and what they MIGHT show is huge if true.

#shorts #microsoft #majorana1 #quantum #quantumcomputer

[somedayitsgonnamakesense]

Microsoft would rather invent a new state of matter than fixing MS Teams

[Xyrer]

That "if true" is doing the heavy lifting. Thanks for including it

[alejrandom]

Technically speaking, Microsoft's implementation doesn't use actual Majorana quasi-particles, but rather a theoretical construct that mimics their behavior.

[andrewcatlin]

If you read the release more carefully it’s delicately worded in a way that they never directly stated that they have created these Majorana based qbits.

[hardworker]

Until unbiased scientists repeat it multiple times the paper is just an advert for Microsoft.

[TheElitesPTFS]

So you're telling me we got a new state of matter before GTA 6?

[volkerkamin]

The paper and the press release are worlds apart. Which is usually a very strong indicator that the "if true" part is false.

[gabedarrett]

I'm impressed with how well you can simplify things yet still remain informative!

[fafflerproductions]

Im all for quantum computers, but we cant forget that it will completely break current encryption methods. I hope there's people working on that or all passwords will be essentially public domain.

That being said, im super excited to see a world where quantum chips/computers are common

[FENOMENALZEDITZ]

Microsoft Majorana 1 ❌
Microsoft Marijuana 1 ✔

[darkwoodmovies]

I don’t think it’s a new state of matter at all, they just said that in their marketing to make it sound fancy

[slek]

This is such a good explanation. I’ve been studying Majoranas for close to 10 years and I couldn’t have explained it better

[stevenpike]

"No one out of Microsoft has seen... " Thank you. That's all I needed to hear to file this in my BS folder.

[colinbrown]

"These measurements do not, by themselves, determine whether the low-energy states detected by interferrometry are topological."

[shivanshvats]

Isn't her excitement in telling everything is contagious!? Love her ❤...

[christo]

I think most scientists in this field think this current iteration won’t work.

[bowietwombly]

Didn't they retract the paper after getting a ton of pushback from actual experts not working for Microsoft who basically said the results were arbitrary and didn't suggest anything, and their claims were unfounded and that the paper should never have been published in the first place?

[LegionofAuora]

As a person with a learning disability, I struggle to understand concepts like this. You explained it perfectly to me. Thank you! Definitely gonna check out the rest of your content!

[LordDustinDeWynd]

If the memories are linked, won't errors in one be replicated in the other, like data mirroring? If one memory IS different from the other, what determines which one is correct?

[pkmn]

Remember when in elementary school and they taught that only 3 states of matter exist

I wish science was so simple.