A breakthrough in quantum computing could make “noise” — forces that disrupt calculations — a thing of the past

An artist's illustration of an entangled qubit inside a quantum computer. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Researchers have developed a revolutionary method for protecting quantum information from “noise” that could finally make it possible to create practical quantum computers.

Quantum computers rely on quantum entanglement, which is the relationship between the quantum properties of two particles that are momentarily separated in time and space. This allows quantum computers to perform calculations faster than their traditional counterparts because they can process data in parallel rather than sequentially.

However, maintaining this “coherence” is challenging due to the “noise” of the environment, as interactions with individual particles, light beams, and even small changes in temperature can disrupt entanglement and lead to loss of information. This is why the error rate in qubits is much higher than that of ordinary bits in classical computing.