Local Scientists’ Quantum Leap

Two major Australian university research units working independently said they were preparing to publish important quantum computing breakthroughs. Quantum computing is a field in its infancy, which promises incredibly quick calculations of momentous problems such as cracking every encryption system in use today. Research groups around the world are racing to produce practical quantum computing designs. A University of NSW senior scientist said the institution was close to publicising a major breakthrough involving a quantum computer that relied on atoms suspended in silicon. Another research group, at the University of Queensland, said it had become the first in the world to use a prototype quantum computer to calculate the energy of an atom