<table>
<tr>
<td style="width:315px;">
<img loading="lazy" src="http://www.newscientist.com/data/images/ns/cms/dn20857/dn20857-1_300.webp" hspace="10" vspace="5" alt="A quantum computer design that uses wires and circuits etched on chips is gaining ground on more established setups based on photons or ions" /> 

A quantum computer design that uses wires and circuits etched on chips is gaining ground on more established setups based on photons or ions (Image: Erik Lucero)

</td>
<td>
&nbsp;&nbsp;
</td>
<td>
"The number of runners in the race has just gone up to three," says <a href="http://quantum.info/andrew/" target="_blank" class="news_link">Andrew White</a> of the University of Queensland, Australia, who builds quantum computers based on photons and was not involved in the new result.
 

The defining feature of a <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg18925441.500-quantum-computers-march-of-the-qubits.html" target="_blank" class="news_link">quantum computer</a> is that it uses quantum bits or qubits. Unlike ordinary bits, these can exist in multiple states at once, known as a superposition. They can also be <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg18124404.700-the-weirdest-link.html" target="_blank" class="news_link">entangled</a> with each other, so their quantum states are linked, allowing them to be in a sort of "super" superposition of quantum states.
</td>
</tr>
</table>


This means quantum computers could <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18365-quantum-computers-do-chemistry.html" target="_blank" class="news_link">perform multiple calculations simultaneously</a>, making them much faster than ordinary computers at some tasks.


Previously, setups using photons or trapped ions as qubits have made the most headway in early calculations. Now <a href="http://web.physics.ucsb.edu/~martinisgroup/people.shtml" target="_blank" class="news_link">Matteo Mariantoni</a> of the University of California, Santa Barbara, and colleagues have boosted the computing power of a rival design, <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg17723831.800-silicon-chips-go-quantum.html" target="_blank" class="news_link">first demonstrated in 2003</a>, that uses tiny, superconducting wires instead.






<a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20857-quantum-computer-chips-pass-key-milestones.html" target="_blank" class="news_link" title="Source">
Continue reading at source: NewScientist.com
</a>

Quantum computer chips pass key milestones