“Is a quantum computer some sort of cake?”

--ListenShareAt Universal Quantum, the team has one goal. We want to make the world’s first million-qubit quantum computer. Why? Because to unlock the full potential of quantum computing and change the world for the better, we need to reach the million-qubit scale.Now, that seems a simple enough message, right? Well, maybe it’s not.Because when our staff asked their loved ones “what does a quantum computer do?” and “what do I do at Universal Quantum?”, well, we got some… mixed responses.Kudos has to go to the younger family members of our Universal Quantum team when answering this question.***Aged between 7 and 10, they came up with answers such as “they’re smart computers,” “computers that are better than other computers,” and “a computer that can solve lots of different questions all at once,” getting pretty close to the mark.The sister of one of our microfabrication engineers pretty much hits the nail on the head too (although she’s a wee bit older than 10). “Quantum computers are computers using quantum physics that will be able to solve very complicated tasks, but apparently these will be done very slowly as they do all options simultaneously.”Now, that’s an interesting response for two reasons. One, it is true that quantum computers will be able to tackle problems that are intractable on today’s supercomputers.Two, it breaks down one of the biggest myths surrounding quantum computers — that they’ll complete complex calculations in nanoseconds.Recent research from Universal Quantum revealed that it’d take 317 million physical qubits to break Bitcoin’s encryption techniques within one hour. Within one day, it would require 13 million physical qubits.Today’s machines have around one-hundred qubits. (And wouldn’t be able to tackle such problems anyway as they’re not powerful enough.)Other responses focused on the future applications of quantum computers. “Quantum computers are the next generation of supercomputers. They are going to completely revolutionise our way of life because they will break any encryption. All security systems will be completely redundant.”But quantum computers aren’t just going to revolutionise our way of life because they have the power to break today's encryption methods. We’re currently working with Rolls-Royce and others to identify more sustainable aviation fuels and next-generation jet engines, for example. There are also applications in drug discovery, climate change and even brewing tea.In fact, quantum computers are going to revolutionise the world in ways we can’t yet imagine.But that may not necessarily be a good thing.“They are probably the most dangerous things that don’t exist,” says the partner of our electronics engineer, Harry Godwin.Definitely food for thought — and a topic we recently covered in an article for TechRadar Pro.*** Talking of food, while the other children nailed what a quantum computer does, my own son, aged 8, believes quantum computers are “some sort of cake”. He also claims I spend my time at work “eating cake”. I could not possibly comment on the accuracy of his responses.From quantum architects to electronics engineers, laser specialists and software developers, there are lots of different people working at Universal Quantum, each one with different responsibilities to get our quantum machine up and running.One of my favourite (and least accurate) answers comes from Dr Luuk Earl’s father, who thinks our quantum engineer “looks after the herd of Schroedinger’s cats.”For cat lovers (or maybe haters?) everywhere, it’s a shame this role isn’t currently available.(But we do accept open job applications — if you can make a solid business case for a ‘quantum cat herder’, we’d love to hear from you.)We also do a lot more than “quantum stuff”. Many of the team are working on tangible engineering problems, using a practical blueprint that promises to deliver millions of qubits by overcoming the major barriers to large-scale quantum computing.We’re at an exciting point where many of the physics problems associated with quantum computers are now engineering problems. There’s nothing fundamentally standing in our way — and it’s one of the most exciting technical fields to be working in.However, I’m pretty sure our VP of operations does far more than “take the bins out”, our microfabrication engineer doesn’t “mess around playing games”, and our head of talent doesn’t just “do typing” — responses from our younger demographic.“I also know you went axe throwing at the pub, but I don’t really know about the rest of the job,” our head of talent’s mum also added. (Don’t worry, this was one of our many, planned work social events.)Interestingly, the responses to “what do you do” were far less accurate than the responses to “what does a quantum computer do”.But maybe this is encouraging — it shows that there’s genuine interest and understanding in what quantum computers do and how they work — it’s just a lot of people don’t understand what goes on behind closed doors when you’re building a million-qubit quantum computer.And that’s where Universal Quantum would love to help. If you want to find out more about our work, our machines and even getting a job, please drop us a line at leap@universalquantum.com or check out our new jobs page.