QUANTUM computing has come a step closer, thanks to the work of David
Kielpinski of the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder,
Colorado.
Ions can be in two different quantum states at the same time. This makes them
good candidates for storing 鈥渜ubits鈥� of data鈥攖he quantum equivalent of
normal computers鈥� 0s and 1s. But these qubits are destroyed by noise within a
fraction of a second. Now Kielpinski鈥檚 team has managed to make such information
last 3.6 times as long by using a pair of entangled ions. Any noise affects both
particles equally, preserving the qubit. 鈥淢ost people think this is the way to
go,鈥� says team member David Wineland. The paper will appear in Science.