The Dawn of Quantum Computing: A New Era is About to Begin
Modeling the laws of nature. That’s what quantum computing promises, but there have always been limits. However, recently, a major breakthrough was achieved by a research team at Microsoft, who after years of work managed to capture a subatomic particle that had previously only been theorized. Not only did they observe it, but they also managed to control it, creating an entirely new material and an innovative architecture. For quantum computing, this architecture can scale up to millions of qubits on a single chip.
This is not just science; it is an artwork of science. And to be honest, some of these ideas sound like science fiction. But they promise to solve problems that would be impossible for the combined power of all current computers and could revolutionize fields such as medicine, materials science, and our understanding of the natural world.
The first quantum processor based on this architecture is called Majorana One. I’ve always been fascinated by puzzles and challenges, combining mathematics and computing. When I discovered the existence of a computer that hadn’t been created yet, but could solve problems that digital computers couldn’t, I was intrigued. I wanted to understand how I could contribute to its realization.
Over the years, I’ve faced problems that I couldn’t solve even with the most powerful computers. But then, over time, I realized that I could solve them if I had access to a quantum computer. A laptop can solve a problem with 10 electrons. A supercomputer can solve a problem with 20 electrons. But no classical computer in the world can exactly solve the behavior of 30, 40, or 50 electrons. And yet, these seemingly small numbers require times that extend over billions of years to be solved, even with all the computers in the world working together.
This is until we have a scaled quantum computer capable of solving these problems efficiently. These calculations are so complex that even if the classical computer were the size of the entire planet, it still wouldn’t be able to compute them. A quantum computer, however, can, and it can do so with extreme precision.
At the core of a quantum computer are qubits. Qubits are similar to our classical bits, which are essentially zeros and ones in a transistor. They are used for the same purpose in quantum computing. They are the fundamental unit of information, where we store data and then process it to obtain solutions. There are different ways to create a qubit, but one of the main challenges in quantum computing is that qubits are extremely delicate. For this reason, the industry has struggled to make them reliable and resistant to noise.
The problem is that qubits are fragile, so it’s crucial that they are stable, but not too large, otherwise, it would be impossible to integrate them into an efficient system. Additionally, if stability is achieved at the cost of speed, then calculations become so slow that a problem that should take a month to solve could take decades, and that would be useless.
In the early days of computing, vacuum tubes were used, and this technology still produced valid computers. Then the transistor was invented. The first transistors weren’t very powerful, but it became clear that over time, the transistor and the integrated circuit would define the future. Similarly, the first generation of qubits may not be the one that leads us to solving complex problems, but it will still be essential for inventing new materials and, consequently, new quantum processing units.
The goal is to get qubits with integrated error protection. Many of the ideas explored come from the field of quantum error correction and can be applied to hardware by designing qubits in a certain way. It’s the design of the qubit that really matters.
Every day, we observe the states of matter: solids maintain their shape, liquids maintain their volume, and gases expand to fill space. But what would happen if, under certain conditions, we could design new states of matter that change the behavior of subatomic particles? 100 years ago, mathematicians theorized one of these states: the topological state. Since then, researchers have been looking for a very specific particle, useful for this state: the Majorana particle.
Last year, they managed to observe it for the first time, and this year, they were able to control it, using its unique properties to build a new type of semiconductor that also works as a superconductor. With this material, it is possible to create a new architecture fundamental for quantum computers, a topological core that allows scaling up to millions of qubits on a tiny chip.
Majorana’s theory showed that it is possible to have a particle that is also its own antiparticle. This means you can take two particles and combine them, and they can annihilate each other without leaving anything. Or you can take two particles, combine them, and simply get two particles. Sometimes, combining them results in a “zero” state, other times a “one” state.
A chip has been designed to measure the presence of Majorana. Thanks to Majorana, it is possible to create a topological qubit, which is reliable, small, and controllable. This solves the problem of noise that generates errors in qubits. With topological qubits, it is possible to build an entirely new quantum architecture, the topological core, which can scale up to a million qubits on a tiny chip. Every single atom of this chip is positioned with precision. It was built from scratch and is a new state of matter.
In this chip, computing is not done with electrons, but with Majoranas. It’s a completely new particle. It’s half electronic, and this design allows for a chip that can hold over a million qubits. And not only that: the speed is just right to get solutions from calculations in reasonable times.
The beauty of this design is that the topological qubit has the right size, the right speed, and the right controllability. All of this means it can scale like no other system. The system works thanks to a quantum accelerator, a classical machine that controls it, and an application that manages the transition between the classical and the quantum, depending on the type of problem to be solved.
When the calculations are completed, the results are reassembled into the classical system and returned to the user as the final answer. Where a quantum computer excels is in simulation, especially in chemistry and materials science, achieving extremely precise results, as accurate as a laboratory experiment.
Imagine a world where a scientist can calculate the material they need with such precision that experiments are no longer necessary. Imagine a battery that charges once and never needs to be recharged. What can be done with a million qubits? In recent years, we’ve seen an explosion of artificial intelligence. And the beauty of quantum computing is that, by enhancing AI, even more discoveries can be made.
What excites me about quantum computing is that it will provide the tools to tackle fundamental challenges, creating new drugs, enzymes for food production, and new technologies. It’s truly groundbreaking because we’re talking about something that’s been worked on for years, but now it’s become real.
The eras of human history have been defined by materials: the Stone Age, the Steel Age, the Silicon Age. Materials define our culture, our humanity, and our progress. So what could be more powerful than a machine that allows us to radically change the way we work with materials?
This is the result of 17 years of work in one of the longest research projects. And now, what is being shown are not just incredible results, but real ones. These results could forever change the course of quantum research. Majorana One is just the beginning.
