This Is What the Worlds Most Powerful Quantum Computer Looks Like – Barron’s

Honeywell International announced Thursday that it has created the worlds most powerful quantum computer. And some of the things quantum computers can do are truly strange.

With a quantum volume of 64 the Honeywell quantum computer is twice as powerful as the next alternative in the industry, reads a blog post on the companys website.

A 64-volume quantum computer sounds amazing. But what is it? It means software-industrial conglomerate Honeywell (ticker: HON) has tethered together six high-functioning q-bits, or quantum bits.

OK, amazing. But who should care? The short answer is everyone.

Its tough to find an area of human activity where [quantum computing] wont help, Christopher Savoie, CEO of Zapata Computing, tells Barrons.

Quantum computing is still in its infancy, and the science is daunting, to say the least, but Savoie has a useful analogy. The Wright brothers took their flight in 1903, and by 1918 we had global air forces, he says. Honeywell is months past the Wright brothers in terms of quantum computing development, according to Savoie.

Quantum computers are, essentially, way more powerful computers. Problems which would might take days, weeks, or years to solve on a traditional computer can take minutes on a quantum computer.

Climate change, drug discovery, logistics, notes Savoie, right now you are limited by the number of variable your computer can handle. Quantum-computing speed grows exponentially. There is a hockey-stick graphic look in computing power as new q-bits get added to the system.

Honeywell stock doesnt trade on quantum fundamentals yet. Shares are down about 16% year to date, worse than the comparable drops of the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average. Honeywell is a large aerospace supplier, and the commercial aviation business has been hammered by Covid-19. Boeing (BA) stock, for instance, is off more than 40% year to date.

Honeywell stock is flat in early Friday trading. The S&P is up about 0.8%.

The quantum-computing industry hasnt yet arrived, despite todays announcement. But quantum computers are already better than regular computers in certain instances. Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) demonstrated the ability of its rudimentary quantum computer to beat traditional systems.

Our quantum computing starts with having a MEMS layer that acts to trap individual ytterbium atoms. We take atoms and hit them with a laser, which strips an electron and traps an ion in an electric field, Tony Uttley, president of Honeywell Quantum Solutions, told Barrons a few months ago, when the company embarked on its quest to make the most powerful computer. The ion is the q-bit. The cool thing about quantum mechanics is a q-bit can be a one or a zero at the same time.

The explanation of the quantum-computing hardware is nearly incomprehensible to most people. And the analogy between the quantum world and the regular world breaks down eventually. Its totally different tech. Quantum computers arent faster just because of the dual nature of a q-bit. They are also faster because of quantum entanglement and constructive interference.

Readers might have to Google both terms, but Uttley tried to help Barrons understand. With constructive interference, only the correct answer survives, he says. The system filters out the wrong answers.

Ask a question and receive only the correct answer. Quantum computers are always right? That situation feels almost religious, like querying God.

What constructive interference really means is the quantum computer solves a maze like a human does, says Savoie. Looking from overhead and tossing out obvious wrong paths before it even starts. That helps a little, but all the explanations help to drive home the idea that quantum-computing technology is a game-changer.

For Honeywell, its a business opportunity. It can create the hardware and join with business such as Zapata to build quantum software and data-analytic platforms.

Zapata is, essentially, an enterprise software company. Businesses arent likely to hire their own quantum programmers, but now they have someone to call to help with the toughest analytical problems.

It would be hard for each company to build their own quantum-computing department, though some banks are doing that already. Quantum programmers? reflects Uttley. The people who know how to program are called theorists, they are a combination of physicists and mathematician, and there are hundreds in the world, not thousands.

Thats one reason why between Honeywell and its partners, which include Microsoft (MSFT), are building a QaaS, or Quantum as a Service, business model.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com

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This Is What the Worlds Most Powerful Quantum Computer Looks Like - Barron's