News Russian Company Presents 16-qubit Quantum Computing QPU to Vladimir Putin

[Admin]

Rosatom at the Forum for Future Technologies in Moscow, Russia showcased what it says is a working, 16-qubit quantum computer based on trapped ions. It seems that Russia isn't as far behind the quantum times as some might have hoped.

Russian Company Presents 16-qubit Quantum Computing QPU to Vladimir Putin : Read more

 

[Dr3ams]

Should be a little faster than Iran's Quantum ARM-based development board.

 

[peachpuff]

Does anyone believe this? Lol

 

[bit_user]

Should be a little faster than Iran's Quantum ARM-based development board.

Yeah, I had the same thought. At least their photonics-based quantum computer is set up on an optics table. Assuming their approach is believed to work at non-cryogenic temperatures, that much seems plausible.

The main thing that puzzles me is that I thought 16 qubits wasn't nearly enough to achieve an advantage over a well-designed, multi-parameter optimization program, running on classical computers.

 

[bit_user]

I think the benefits of believing it outweigh the risks of not doing so.

Russia has plenty of smart physicists. Unlike semiconductor manufacturing, I think there aren't so many technological hurdles to overcome for creating a first quantum computer, if you have a sound theory and the ability to construct apparatuses like those needed to conduct advanced particle physics experiments.

 

[JamesJones44]

Does anyone believe this? Lol

Not trying to get political, but Russia, unlike Iran, has had plenty of innovations in the last century.

Maybe this is a hand waving prototype that only works with n number of qualifiers, but I would assume this has real merit even if it's not 100% complete.

 

[peachpuff]

Not trying to get political, but Russia, unlike Iran, has had plenty of innovations in the last century.

Maybe this is a hand waving prototype that only works with n number of qualifiers, but I would assume this has real merit even if it's not 100% complete.

Yes last century, not the current century.

 

[bit_user]

Not trying to get political, but Russia, unlike Iran, has had plenty of innovations in the last century.

I think Iran has enough smart people, but many years of war and sanctions have taken a real toll on their resources. So, most of their academic institutions are probably chronically underfunded. Brain-drain should also be a factor, but I don't know how easy it's been to emigrate from there, since the revolution.

Prior to the 1978 revolution, it was a fairly modern country. Their population is about 50% larger than that of France and about 75% as much as Japan's. It's the 17th largest country by land area, and it's not mostly desert.

 

[JamesJones44]

Yes last century, not the current century.

I meant in the last 100 years... Practicality aside, working Hypersonic weapons is proof enough that they are still very capable

 

[peachpuff]

I meant in the last 100 years... Practicality aside, working Hypersonic weapons is proof enough that they are still very capable

The ones that can be shot down by the patriot system? Didn't they arrest some scientists that made them? 😆

 

[JamesJones44]

The ones that can be shot down by the patriot system? Didn't they arrest some scientists that made them? 😆

The point is Russia has been capable of such things on their own. I wouldn't underestimate them like the US did in the past otherwise history might repeat itself.

 

[peachpuff]

The point is Russia has been capable of such things on their own. I wouldn't underestimate them like the US did in the past otherwise history might repeat itself.

Yes they were capable of great things... but now its a joke of its former self. The cold war kept them on their toes and they innovated, but what have they built since putin came to power? Nothing.

 

[setx]

Yes they were capable of great things... but now its a joke of its former self. The cold war kept them on their toes and they innovated, but what have they built since putin came to power? Nothing.

I believe that Russia is still the leader in nuclear power plants... which are built exactly by Rosatom mentioned in the article.

 

[bit_user]

I believe that Russia is still the leader in nuclear power plants...

I'm not sure about leadership, in a technological sense. I think the current state of the art has moved beyond uranium and towards safer isotopes like thorium, which also enables smaller "neighborhood-scale" reactors, rather than massive centralized reactor complexes. Also, disposal of these newer fuels are easier and safer. That said, Russia is still building nuclear plants. There's one under construction in Hungary, I believe.

Russia still dominates a good chunk of the reactor fuel supply market, and it's a problem since their fuel rods are mechanically incompatible with those available from other suppliers. This is making it slow for certain countries to transition over to other suppliers, because alternate supply chains not only need to ramp up production but also change their tooling and designs.

For a long time, the US space industry had been using reactors powered exclusively by fuel refined from Russian nuclear warheads. I think that supply got cut off after the geopolitical events which occurred in 2014.

 

[dalek1234]

Does anyone believe this? Lol

I was just going to say the same thing. This is most likely typical soviet disinformation