What is Quantum Computing?

Topic · Science

Quantum Computing

Qubits, error correction and the long road to useful quantum advantage.

Parallax Index

63 +2

Quantum Computing

Why now?

Error-corrected logical qubits are moving from theory to demonstrations
Governments are funding quantum as strategic infrastructure
Post-quantum cryptography migration is starting regardless of hardware timelines

Latest

Tech

US Treasury Adds Russia and North Korea to Investment Curbs

A proposed rule published on 22 October 2026 would extend the Outbound Investment Security Program beyond China and widen the covered technologies to supercomputing, biotechnology and hypersonic systems. It applies only above $50,000 and leaves most stock purchases alone.

24 October 20262 min read

Science

Nearly 5,000 Resets Steered 100 Qubits Out of Chaos

Writing in Nature Physics on 12 October 2026, the group reports nearly 5,000 two-qubit operations alongside nearly 5,000 mid-circuit measurements and resets on a chain of up to 100 qubits. The transition from chaos to control sharpened as the system grew, matching a theory that began with a bet at a birthday party.

13 October 20263 min read

Science

Oak Ridge Cut a Quantum Circuit From 2 Million Gates to 91,000

Oak Ridge National Laboratory says a reworked quantum phase estimation routine cut the gate count for a fluid-dynamics calculation from 2 million to 91,000, a reduction of more than 95 per cent. The result is a circuit-size saving verified by classical simulation, not a demonstration of quantum advantage.

1 October 20263 min read

Science

One CPU Kept Up With 408 Logical Qubits in IonQ's Tests

IonQ announced on 22 September 2026 that a real-time quantum error correction decoder handling up to 408 logical qubits ran on one standard CPU. The arXiv preprint behind the claim reports decoding overhead below 0.3% at one error rate and below 12% at another.

24 September 20263 min read

Tech

DARPA Gets Hands-On Access to Microsoft's Majorana Qubits

Microsoft has opened a quantum research centre at the University of Maryland and will give DARPA on-site access to its latest topological system, including qubits built on the Majorana 2 chip. The evaluation runs under DARPA's Underexplored Systems for Utility-Scale Quantum Computing programme, which asks whether any quantum approach can produce a commercially useful machine by 2033.

23 September 20263 min read

Science

AI Is Now Designing the Experiments, Not Just Analysing Them

Published on 2 September 2026, 'Designing physics experiments with artificial intelligence' consolidates several years of results in which algorithms search vast spaces of hardware configurations and propose new layouts rather than tuning parameters. The lineage runs from automated quantum-optics design to a 2025 study that found gravitational-wave detector designs with potentially more than tenfold sensitivity gains.

14 September 20265 min read

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Quantum Computing

Why now?

Latest

US Treasury Adds Russia and North Korea to Investment Curbs

Nearly 5,000 Resets Steered 100 Qubits Out of Chaos

Oak Ridge Cut a Quantum Circuit From 2 Million Gates to 91,000

One CPU Kept Up With 408 Logical Qubits in IonQ's Tests

DARPA Gets Hands-On Access to Microsoft's Majorana Qubits

AI Is Now Designing the Experiments, Not Just Analysing Them

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5 things worth knowing today.