Unlike traditional computers that rely on bits of information that can be in one of two states (1 or 0), quantum computers manipulate qubits, or units of information tucked inside subatomic particles. That means, they follow the wacky laws of quantum mechanics and so can be in two states at once. This ability allows quantum computers to theoretically store exponentially more information than your everyday laptop. Live Science is here to dissect the latest achievements and discoveries in this bizarre quantum world of computing.
Latest about quantum computers
What is quantum supremacy?
We may be on the cusp of quantum supremacy. But what does that actually mean?
'There's no real competitor': Theoretical physicist Marika Taylor on how black holes could help us to find a theory of everything
An artist's abstract illustration of cosmic strings.
'Quantum hard drives' closer to reality after scientists resolve 10-year-old problem
Scientists in Australia say they've cracked a key hurdle facing the the development of scalable quantum computers and practical quantum data storage.
Monster 4,400-qubit quantum processor is '25,000 times faster' than its predecessor
D-Wave says its new Advantage2 processor, which is designed for complex applications in AI, optimization and data science, is faster and more accurate than its existing 5,000-qubit system.
IBM's newest 156-qubit quantum chip can run 50 times faster than its predecessor — equipping it for scientific research
When combined with Qiskit software tools, the 156-qubit R2 Heron quantum processor can perform 5,000 two-qubit gate operations — double the previous best — meaning it's ready for complex quantum computations, IBM scientists say.
Why do we need quantum computers and what will they be used for?
Quantum computers will one day outpace the fastest supercomputers on the planet, but what will they be used to accomplish?
Chinese scientists claim they broke RSA encryption with a quantum computer — but there's a catch
Researchers claim to have broken RSA encryption using a quantum computer, but what really happened?
History of quantum computing: 12 key moments that shaped the future of computers
Although quantum computing is a nascent field, there are plenty of key moments that defined it over the last few decades as scientists strive to create machines that can solve impossible problems.
