• Question: can we use individual molecules and lasers in a vacuum to build a special type of computer, called a quantum computer?

    Asked by anon-199016 to Gautam on 12 Mar 2019.
    • Photo: Gautam Kambhampati

      Gautam Kambhampati answered on 12 Mar 2019:


      We’re not sure yet! Our equations tell us that it should be possible, but actually building something is very difficult. The main problem right now is cooling down the molecules enough.

      In a quantum computer, the direction that a molecule spins in is really important, so we need to be able to control it (that’s what the lasers are for!). But if the molecule is too hot then it moves around a lot, which changes the direction it spins in. So to make the computer we need to be able to cool it down so it almost stops spinning completely.

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