World's first universal quantum computer 'unveiled'

[Wiped]

famousringo said:

Wiped said:
So basically, it rewrites the fundamental laws that our comtemporary computers work with, to make them better, but we'll have to develop them from the ground up all over again - but once we do, because the system is much better at its core (qubits beat bits) when we do, they'll be much faster?

K. Sounds cool.

As I understand it, quantum computers can't actually replace conventional computers. There are certain problems you're going to want an old-fashioned computer to solve, and there are other ones you'll want a quantum computer to solve.

Think of it kind of like a GPU. It's extremely good at calculating a specialized set of problems related to 3D imaging, but it's not very good at general computations. The PC of the future might have a quantum processing unit, but it will probably still come with a CPU at the heart of things.

Part of the important research on quantum computers will be figuring out exactly what kinds of applications it's well-suited for.

Hm, interesting. Well, you learn something every day I guess. What really intrigues me is something that can replace the system conventional computers run on. It must be possible, otherwise one day traditional computing power will hit its limits.