Getting Closer

Quantum Computing might finally become real if Xanadu Ai has something to say about it regarding photon number detectors and innovative thinking on tech that will change everything if it does get real.

But before we wax poetic about this development, one should know how QCs work with Qubits and Arstechina explains this illusive entity and compute process with style and accuracy.

Bloch sphere representation of a qubit. The probability amplitudes for the superposition state, 

A qubit is a bit of quantum information. A normal bit can have two states: zero or one—it is in one or the other of those states all the time. A two-state qubit also has just two states: zero or one. But a qubit is not always in one of those states all the time. Instead, the qubit is in both states simultaneously, called a superposition state, and jumps to a one or zero only when it is measured (read out). A quantum computation is about manipulating the chance of obtaining a one or a zero at read out.

Why this tech is finally happening.

By using photon-number-resolving detectors, scientists are no longer limited to states encoded in a single photon. Now, they can make use of states that make use of the photon number. In other words, a single qubit can be in a superposition state of containing a different number of photons zero, one, two and so on, up to some maximum number. Hence, fewer qubits can be used for a computation.

Hence ...

As a result of these developments, the researchers were simply able to design and order their quantum optical chip from a fab, something unthinkable less than a decade ago. So, in a sense, this is a story that is 20 years in the making of the underlying technology. Xanadu is the first out of the gate on this.

How Xanadu's tech works ...

Finally ... this tech may get real after all.