Skip the navigation
)
News

IBM's new future: Quantum computing

Will IBM's last 100 years be remembered as its best?

June 16, 2011 09:23 AM ET

Computerworld - IBM is marking its 100th anniversary by celebrating its record in technology innovation. It created dynamic RAM, the disk drive and the magnetic strips used on credit cards, among many other inventions. It is one of the most inventive companies in the world.

But the computing industry is moving to a new future as disruptive and as radical as the era that began with the introduction of silicon chips, and that future is quantum computing. These are systems that use the behavior of subatomic particles to conduct calculations now performed with transistors on a chip.

This future may be anywhere from 10 to 20 or more years away. But if the potential of quantum computing is fully realized, it may trigger a development rush in chip and hardware design reminiscent of what Silicon Valley experienced decades ago.

"Think about the game changer we're now approaching," said Bernard Meyerson, IBM's vice president of innovation and a fellow at the company. It's Meyerson's job to help make sure that IBM's last 100 years aren't remembered as its best ones. That's one of the reasons he talks about the changes in the chip world.

Following Moore's Law, and then shrinking by another factor of 10 from the leading-edge processors of today, these transistors will be so small that "you cross into a quantum mechanical regime of operation -- there's no precedent for that," Meyerson said.

But even once this shrink limit is reached, in about 10 years, progress will continue as engineers build tightly coupled systems with massive levels of integration on blocks of chips, as well as make improvements in memory, caching and speed processing, Meyerson said.

Those advances will extend the time frame to 20 years. But after that, "you better have a helluva trick up your sleeve," said Meyerson. One of those tricks may be quantum computing.

IBM researchers have studied the theory and potential of quantum computing for years, and more recently they have been experimenting with the concepts, said Bill Gallagher, the senior manager of quantum computing at IBM Research.

"It's one of our most significant fundamental research projects now, and may be one of the largest fundamental ones," said Gallagher, There's been "good progress, but a long way to go," he said.

An ordinary computer is a collection of bits that can either be a 0 or a 1. But quantum bits can hold those states, 0 and 1, simultaneously. Instead of doing a calculation one after the other, the processing power in a quantum computer can increase exponentially. Two quantum bits, or qubits, can hold four distinct states, which can be processed simultaneously, three qubits can hold eight and 10 qubits can hold 1,024 states. In time, researchers expect machines with thousands of qubits.

But the subatomic world of quantum computing is daunting. Approaches to maintaining "quantum coherence," a stable state for the interaction of atoms and electrons running calculations, include processing at temperatures near absolute zero, or -459.67 degrees Fahrenheit, to reduce thermal interference, and using superconducting metals. Lengthening the amount of time that a coherent state can be maintained is one of the challenges facing researchers.



What is Tech Briefcase?
TechBriefcase is a new, free service where IT Professionals can Search, Store and Share IT white papers and content like this. Learn more
Bookmark content
Speed up your research efforts with content across the web.
Search and Store
Find the white papers you need. Create folders for any topic.
View Anywhere
Open your briefcase on your iPhone, tablet or desktop. Share with colleagues.
Don't have an account yet?
Additional Resources
Security KnowledgeVault
WHITE PAPER
Security is not an option. This KnowledgeVault Series offers professional advice how to be proactive in the fight against cybercrimes and multi-layered security threats; how to adopt a holistic approach to protecting and managing data; and how to hire a qualified security assessor. Make security your Number 1 priority.

Read now.

Cut Communications Costs Once and for All
WHITE PAPER
New IP-based communications systems are being deployed by small and midsized businesses at a rapid rate. Learn how these organizations are enabling faster responsiveness, creating better customer experiences, speeding office or mobile interactions, and dramatically reducing existing communications costs.

Read now.

Emerging Technologies White Papers
Practice Management: Double Billing Rate and Improve Patient Services
Would you like to double your billing rate and achieve faster payment for services?

Download this customer success story to see how One Health...
Mission Critical Data Explosion and Customer Case Study
Would you like to double your tier 1 storage capacity while simultaneously reducing your storage footprint?

Download this customer success story to see how...
Protecting Against Database Attacks and Insider Threats: Top 5 Scenarios
Read this new eBook to learn the top five scenarios and essential best practices for preventing database attacks and insider threats.
Database Activity Monitoring Is Evolving
Read the analyst report and learn how you can leverage the core capabilities of a DAP solution for better database security.
Establishing a Strategy for Database Security is No Longer Optional
The options for securing increasingly valuable databases are very broad and deep, and can be confusing. This research provides an overview of three...
All Emerging Technologies White Papers
Emerging Technologies Webcasts
Distributed Database Security with Real-time Monitoring
View this demo and learn how IBM InfoSphere Guardium database activity monitoring can help protect your sensitive data in distributed DBMS environments with...
InfoSphere Warehouse Packs Demo
These flash modules make warehousing more tangible and relevant to business users through detailed explanations of the InfoSphere Warehouse Packs.
Delivery Management -- Extending Lifecycle Management
Date: Wednesday, June 20, 2012, 1:00 PM EDT

Siloed organizations continue doing the wrong things and doing things wrong, leading to increased costs,...
Leverage automation today to reduce IT complexity
Date: Tuesday, June 5, 2012, 2:00 PM EDT

Whether your B2B complexity is caused by multiple technologies due to M&A, business or application specific...
Redefine Expectations in the Data Center
Need to do more with less? Watch this video to learn how HP ProLiant Gen8 servers can help your business deploy servers three...
All Emerging Technologies Webcasts
Newsletter Sign-Up

Receive the latest news test, reviews and trends on your favorite technology topics

Choose a newsletter
  1. View all newsletters | Privacy Policy
IT Jobs