IEEE Spectrum July, 2016 - 13

New quantum algorithms
could allow quantum computers to process data at a
much higher speed, allowing for database searches, machine learning, and image recognition with unprecedented speed. Making use of such algorithms
might be made easier for a broader range of coders because of
quantum compilers that Microsoft and others are working on.
With such a potentially valuable set of technologies in the offing, why didn't Europe go all in sooner? According to Zeilinger,
a portion of the problem was in the communication between
scientists and engineers. Some of the weirdness of quantum
theory puts off engineers, he says. "This is an old problem in
Europe: Industry in Europe is more skeptical than in the United
States, although it is now losing some of its skepticism," he says.
Everitt agrees. Many areas of quantum mechanics are no longer problems of physics; they are now engineering problems, he
argues. "For these areas, we will see great progress that will lead
to new products." -a lex a nder hellem a ns

ernst de Groot

Cool QuANTum TeCH: This dilution
refrigerator can cool quantum dots to
less than 5 millikelvins for experiments
in quantum computing.

materials, which would be impractical
on today's classical computers. The simulations would elucidate the fine structures of superconductors and map out
complex chemical reactions to predict
whether a newly engineered material
would be stable.
Quantum sensors and quantum imaging will be especially useful in medicine.
For example, they'll allow new ways to
sense the heart's magnetic field, which
could more accurately diagnose and
distinguish heart diseases. "You will
be able to obtain images of things that
we were never able to see before," says
Mark Everitt, a physicist focusing on
quantum engineering at Loughborough
University, in England.
Quantum clocks, which track the vibrations of a single atom to provide almost
unimaginable accuracy, will serve a
wide range of purposes, including accurate measurements of the local gravity
potential and precision timing of financial transactions, says Helen Margolis, of
the United Kingdom's National Physical
Laboratory. She reports that the best of
these quantum clocks could be made so
accurate that they'd gain or lose no more
than 1 second every 30 billion years.

some european Hubs of Quantum Activity
uNiTeD KiNGDom

THe NeTHeRlANDs

Networked Quantum
information
Technologies (NQiT),
university of oxford,
england: Built first
quantum logic gate
using two different
types of ions

QuTech, Delft university
of Technology:
Demonstrated errorcorrected building block of
a quantum computer

PolAND
National Quantum
information Centre
(KCiK), Gdansk: Explored
fundamental limits of
quantum cryptography

sPAiN
institute of
Photonic sciences
(iFCo), barcelona:
Discovered
theoretical
foundations for
certain quantum
simulations

GeRmANy
max Planck munich
(mPQ): Demonstrated
a quantum logic gate for
photons

NEwS

SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG

NORTh AMERICAN

JUL 2016

http://SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Spectrum July, 2016