Microsoft unveils chip it says could bring quantum computing within years
Quantum computers could be built within years rather than decades, according to Microsoft, which has unveiled a breakthrough that it said could pave the way for faster development,The tech firm has developed a chip which, it says, echoes the invention of the semiconductors that made today’s smartphones, computers and electronics possible by miniaturisation and increased processing power,The chip is powered by the world’s first topoconductor, which can create a new state of matter that is not a solid, liquid, or gas – making it possible to design quantum systems that fit in a single chip smaller than the palm of a hand, and to create more reliable hardware, a peer-reviewed paper published in Nature reports,Paul Stevenson, a professor of physics at the University of Surrey, said Microsoft could be “very serious competitors” in the race to build the first reliable quantum computers if the company successfully built on this research,“The new papers are a significant step, but as with much promising work in quantum computing, the next steps are difficult and until the next steps have been achieved, it is too soon to be anything more than cautiously optimistic,” he said.
George Booth, a professor of theoretical physics at King’s College London, said the research represented an “impressive technical achievement”, albeit one whose value would probably become clear only with hindsight.“Whether a claim of ‘years’ [rather than decades before meaningful development] is accurate will remain to be seen,” he said.Microsoft claims that the topoconductor offers a path to developing quantum systems that can scale to a million qubits – the delicate building blocks of quantum computers that are analogous to the ones and zeros computers currently use.This could eventually produce the most powerful computers yet, based on quantum mechanics rather than classical physics, which would be capable of solving highly complex industrial and societal problems.This could include breaking down microplastics into harmless byproducts; inventing self-healing materials for construction, manufacturing or healthcare; solving complex logistics supply chain problems; or cracking encryption codes.
Sign up to TechScapeA weekly dive in to how technology is shaping our livesafter newsletter promotionEarlier this month, the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) selected Microsoft’s topoconductor as one of two pathways to quantum computing it is exploring as part of a programme intended to determine whether it is possible to build an industrially useful quantum computer by 2033, much faster than most predictions.The other approach is created by PsiQuantum, which is using silicon-based photonics, meaning light wave-based technology, to create a quantum computer based on a lattice-like fabric of photonic qubits.Microsoft previously claimed to have developed topological qubits in a paper that had to be retracted after scientific flaws were pointed out.Booth said that although Microsoft’s progress had been slow relative to some other companies, it had instead “focused on the long game by working on a system which is inherently more resilient to noise and interference” than the fragile basic quantum computers that competitors have been building for a few years.“These topological qubits protect the information they carry by using the properties of a new type of emergent particle, a Majorana fermion, which means that it is harder for this information to be lost as it is processed.
However, [there is an] added layer of complexity when constructing these qubits when compared to competing architectures,” he said.These Majorana particles had never previously been seen or made.Microsoft said they had to be “coaxed into existence with magnetic fields and superconductors”, which is why most quantum computing research has focused on other approaches.Booth said the research represented a step in the direction of a very different platform that could “compete with the more mature technologies pioneered by the likes of Google”, though he added that there was still a long way to go in demonstrating that the technology could be scaled up.
Nearly 500 cat figurines stolen from Gordon Ramsay’s London restaurant
Nearly 500 cat figurines were stolen in one week from Gordon Ramsay’s new London restaurant, the TV chef has said.The restaurateur, 58, recently launched Lucky Cat 22 Bishopsgate by Gordon Ramsay in one of London’s tallest buildings, which features the beckoning Japanese cat models called maneki-neko.He told ITV’s The Jonathan Ross Show there had been numerous thefts.Ramsay, known for his Hell’s Kitchen and Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares reality TV programmes, said: “The cats are getting stolen. There were 477 stolen last week – they cost £4
Bored kids and empty cupboards? Try these child-friendly recipes this half-term
This is an extract from our weekly Feast newsletter, written by Felicity Cloake, Meera Sodha, Rachel Roddy and others. Sign up here to get it free to your inbox every Thursday.Happy half-term everyone! If you are a parent reading this, the chances are you are in desperate need of a snack/strong coffee/stiff drink. I start these school breaks with great intentions – lots of wholesomeness, baking, arts and crafts, and so forth. But the snack cupboard is now bare, the kids have had a side of cucumber sticks with every meal as a token bit of “green” and there are only so many episodes of Bluey I can take (actually, that’s a lie, but you know, we can’t have it playing all day)
This is my final OFM column. Here’s what I’ve learned about buffets, ‘clean eating’ and what not to serve food on | Jay Rayner
I have been writing this column for 15 years. That means there have been 180 of them, filled with wisdom, insight, whimsy, prejudice, contradiction and sometimes just outrageous stupidity, all of it interrogating the way we cook and eat now. As this is my last of these columns I thought, as a service, I should summarise the key points. Are you ready? Good. Let’s go
How to make rhubarb crumble – recipe | Felicity Cloake's Masterclass
When I last set finger to keyboard on this subject, I claimed that anyone can make a decent crumble. Age has made me slightly less generous; we’ve all chewed our way through dusty scatterings of flour and stodgy doughs that, delicious as they may have been, could, honestly, also have been a lot better. Fortunately, perfection here is not difficult.Prep 10 min Cook 40 min Serves 6-8800g rhubarb 40g demerara sugar, or white sugarA pinch of spice (ginger, cinnamon – optional)For the crumble topping 150g plain flour 75g demerara sugar ¼ tsp salt 75g ground almonds 170g chilled unsalted butter 25g skin-on almonds, or other nuts (optional)Nigella reckons rhubarb is “the best crumble in the world”, but the recipe can, of course, be adapted to other fruit, according to both taste and season (or, indeed, to frozen fruit at any time of year); for other options see step 8. The fruit will be hidden underneath the topping, so crumble is also a great use for less lovely thicker or greener stems of rhubarb, underripe stone fruit, gluts of apples, etc
How to use up the remains of a can of coconut milk | Kitchen aide
I rarely use a whole tin of coconut milk in one go. What can I do with the leftovers?Happily, the warming sweetness of coconut milk is welcome in all the things you want to eat right now, sitting at home in your thermals (Curry! Soup!), meaning leftovers are no bad thing. When Mandy Yin, chef-owner of Sambal Shiok in north London, is faced with this same predicament, it usually means coconut rice: “It’s so straightforward, too: just replace half the water you’d need to cook the rice with coconut milk.” Otherwise, the excess milk could make an appearance in stews, even bolognese, or creamed spinach, she adds: “Replace the cream with coconut milk and a dash of fish sauce, and that’s really delicious.”The Guardian’s journalism is independent
Australian supermarket meat pie taste test: ‘What I want to dribble down my front at the footy’
Nicholas Jordan and friends wade through the gristle and the gloop to find out if there’s such a thing as a bad meat pieAfter years of eating the wares of service station hot cabinets, stadium menus and country bakeries, I never found a pie I didn’t enjoy. I doubted such a thing existed. But I thought maybe, somewhere in the depths of an Australian supermarket freezer, I would find it: a pie that would save me from the shame and utter plainness of writing an article that says “any pie is fine”.I bought every frozen or refrigerated pie labelled beef or meat and did a blind taste test with a team of Sydney bakers and chefs – Rob Pirina (Glenorie Bakery), Tom Mitchell (Shadow Baking), Andy Bowdy (Kiln), Justin Narayan (MasterChef), Toby Wilson (Ricos Tacos), Kimmy Gastmeier (Cherry Moon General Store) and Ryan Broomfield (Broomfields Pies).I cooked the pies according to their packet instructions then placed them in a pie warmer
Oil workers ‘could strike’ to protect jobs in green transition; Trump tariffs hit US economic growth – as it happened
A prize worth pursuing: has Elizabeth line shown what rail investment can achieve?
How to navigate apps, from checking safety to remembering passwords
How poignant to see loved ones frozen in time on Google Street View | Letters
WTA urges social media companies to do more after Raducanu’s Dubai ordeal
Time is running out for England's and Scotland’s Lions hopefuls to state their case | Ugo Monye