Bob Sutor, VP of IBM’s Quantum Ecosystem Development
IBM
Technology moves fast.Scientists are already developing the next generation of computing called quantum computing. Over the past year, I’ve had the opportunity to speak several times with Bob Sutor, VP of IBM’s Quantum Ecosystem Development, on what was happening in the field. While quantum computing isn’t a household term, Sutor shared that it isn’t new. Quantum computing’s roots extend back to the 1900s and quantum mechanics.
Quantum computing uses quantum mechanics concepts such as superposition, entanglement and interference. Yet, these terms are confusing for individuals not deeply rooted in physics. Rather than try to explain each of these, I suggest watching this video where WIRED challenged Dr. Talia Gershon, Director of Hybrid Cloud Infrastructure Research at IBM Research, to explain quantum computing to 5 different people. Gershon was previously IBM’s Senior Manager of Quantum Research. The video is brilliant.
Sutor also provided a simplified way of describing it when he said we can think of computing as being in two camps. Sutor referred to these camps as classical and quantum. The classical era uses what we have today, such as processors, servers on the internet, the mainframes, and high-performance computing. But why was quantum developed and why do we care about it?
Sutor described how certain problems simply couldn’t be solve with a classical computer. Similar to what Gershon said in the video, traditional computing can run out of capacity to solve the problem. In other cases, classical computing takes too long to solve the computation. Hence, IBM and others are working on a different type of computer that removes those constraints.
Image of the interior of IBM’s Quantum Computer
IBM
Why don’t we have it today?
The move to quantum requires constructing different hardware, software, physical enclosures and even a new programming model. A quantum computer uses qubits, which are quantum bits. It’s an extension of the idea of zeros or ones, but with quantum, we have more than a binary choice of a zero or a one. One way to describe this is a game of heads or tails. When a coin lands, it’s either heads or tails. However, while it is spinning before it lands, it is neither heads nor tails. It’s both. This same principle applies to a qubit in computing, which can be in a state of zero, one, or a superposition that represents both. This flexible state provides extra dimensions in which to compute.
If we add the concept of entanglement (intertwining qubits to make their behavior correlated), we can double the power of quantum computing every time we add another qubit. For example, the system can go from two to four to eight to 16. This exponential increase in computing makes it well suited to solve complex computing problems.
But there are challenges
In the ideal world, you’d create a qubit, add additional qubits, and apply operations (instruction sets) to the qubits to achieve the desired outcome. However, it’s not quite that simple. As Scientific Computer said, “Quantum computers are exceedingly difficult to engineer, build and program. As a result, they are crippled by errors in the form of noise, faults and loss of quantum coherence, which is crucial to their operation and yet falls apart before any nontrivial program has a chance to run to completion.”
Qubits are sensitive to heat and any outside interference. The qubits must be kept in a cold chamber because heat creates computing errors. For example, the IBM quantum computer sits in a chamber where the temperature is 0.015 Kelvin. As a comparison, outer space has an average temperature of 2.7 Kelvin.
Noise can cause some errors which affect the computation. Some of these errors might come from small manufacturing defects, while others may occur if the system applies too much energy to the qubit. The physical structure of computing has to remove extra noise from the real world. To do this, you have to perform what’s called mitigation to reduce it. IBM published a paper in Nature, explicitly talking about a smart solution that uses noise to help eliminate noise.
It’s about quality, not quantity
Like the processor wars of old, it’s easy to get caught up with the discussion of which vendors system has more qubits than another vendor. The question in quantum should not be how many qubits a computer supports, but what is the number of high-quality qubits. A good quantum system starts at the device level. Scientists and engineers build the qubits for a device, attempt to minimize the errors in each qubit, and optimize how it’s connected to other qubits. For example, your television isn’t going to have a clear picture if you had used poor quality HDMI cable. It’s the same with quantum. Each step is essential to ensure the highest quality.
Since quantum computing differs from classical computing, qubits require new metrics for measuring quality. Sutor said IBM uses a metric called Quantum Volume (QV) to measure a quantum computer’s power. The QV method quantifies the largest random circuit of equal width and depth that the system implements with high performance. Quantum computing systems with high-fidelity operations, high connectivity, large calibrated gate sets, and circuit-rewriting software toolchains should have higher quantum volumes. Taking the technical terms aside, this shifts the dialogue from merely stating the number of qubits to talking about the number of stable qubits (coherence) that can interact (connectivity) with each other as a system. Sutor said IBM has been able to double this power year over year since 2017.
Given the nascent state of the industry, it’s not surprising to hear that there are differing views on the best way to measure a quantum computers performance. While I can’t comment on the best way to do this, vendors must provide a framework for helping buyers understand the attributes of performance and the different styles of measuring them. Quantum Volume is starting to be used by others, such as Honeywell, in stating the performance of their systems.
Is quantum computing right around the corner?
Quantum computing is perceived as a technology that is very far away. And, indeed, quantum computing isn’t around the corner. However, tremendous progress occurs every six months. Just last week, IBM announced that by combining a series of new software and hardware techniques to improve overall performance, IBM had upgraded one of its 27-qubit client-deployed systems to achieve a Quantum Volume 64.
Real businesses are investing today
Companies, such as IBM, Google, Intel and others, are spending this time creating better systems and better software. However, this doesn’t happen if they’re working in a research vacuum. Real progress only happens when technology vendors work with clients to solve actual problems. IBM offers the Quantum Experience, but the IBM Q Network is the commercial version of the program where companies have access to IBM’s latest technologies and support for business strategy engagements.
For example, Daimler’s working with IBM to research how quantum algorithms for chemistry and materials science will support Daimler’s long-term goal of designing new batteries. IBM and Exxon are looking at how quantum computing can improve predictive environmental modeling, and help Exxon discover new materials for more efficient carbon capture.Meanwhile, in finance, JPMorgan Chase and IBM are researching methodologies for financial modeling and risk management.
Quantum advantage versus quantum supremacy
As you read more about quantum computing, you’ll inevitably run into the concept of “quantum supremacy,” which is the idea that quantum computers are powerful enough to complete calculations that classical supercomputers can’t perform at all. IBM’s Sutor talks about establishing a quantum advantage as being more significant. Quantum advantage is the point where quantum computers perform specific computing tasks more efficiently (hundreds to thousands of times faster) or at a lower cost than using classical computing alone. It’s not for every type of problem, but it will excel at specific things. He believes this is easily achievable within this decade.
Sutor noted that quantum computing is not just as simple as manufacturing qubit. He stated there’s also science, experimental physics and engineering to refine. For example, scientists must improve quantum circuits to achieve quantum advantage. Sutor expects that in three to five years, we will see early instances of quantum advantage. However, this vision of quantum advantage requires hardware, software, and algorithms systems, to all come together.
Advice to organizations
Quantum is exciting because it forces people to move beyond the old notions of how to accomplish various computing tasks. Putting aside the old allows breakthrough thinking, which is essential for companies to take their digital journey to get to the next level. Like any other IT project, you need a quantum computing champion to explore, experiment, and evangelized the technology within your organization.
Quantum computing isn’t something you can pick up in a weekend or at the grocery store. It’s an emerging technology that is arguably five or more years away from widespread commercial use. However, an organization should begin its quantum computing education today and start to define projects that can leverage cloud-resident quantum technology.
Organizations that do this have the opportunity to create breakthroughs in areas such as material science and artificial intelligence. Many are already on this educational journey: at the recent Global Summer School, 4000 people attended workshops and labs to learn about IBM’s open source Qiskit development platform.
Individuals can take advantage of the quantum wave as well.
The evolution of quantum computing also provides an opportunity for people to engage in learning new computing skills to enter a market at its inception. Since the fundamentals of quantum differ from classical computing, it doesn’t require previous knowledge or the need to relearn skills.
It’s an exciting time in computing. We have real problems, such as creating vaccines, that quantum computing can help us develop faster and better. Researchers and technology vendors are supplying training and free access to computing resources that cost billions of dollars to design. Anyone with the desire and aptitude to learn a new skill has the opportunity to participate in the next wave of computing jobs regardless of race, age, or other affiliations. The world is what you make it and individuals can use quantum computing to make it better.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rare Bronze-Era jar accidentally smashed by a 4-year-old visiting a museum was back on display Wednesday after restoration experts were able to carefully piece the artifact back together.
Last month, a family from northern Israel was visiting the museum when their youngest son tipped over the jar, which smashed into pieces.
Alex Geller, the boy’s father, said his son — the youngest of three — is exceptionally curious, and that the moment he heard the crash, “please let that not be my child” was the first thought that raced through his head.
The jar has been on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa for 35 years. It was one of the only containers of its size and from that period still complete when it was discovered.
The Bronze Age jar is one of many artifacts exhibited out in the open, part of the Hecht Museum’s vision of letting visitors explore history without glass barriers, said Inbal Rivlin, the director of the museum, which is associated with Haifa University in northern Israel.
It was likely used to hold wine or oil, and dates back to between 2200 and 1500 B.C.
Rivlin and the museum decided to turn the moment, which captured international attention, into a teaching moment, inviting the Geller family back for a special visit and hands-on activity to illustrate the restoration process.
Rivlin added that the incident provided a welcome distraction from the ongoing war in Gaza. “Well, he’s just a kid. So I think that somehow it touches the heart of the people in Israel and around the world,“ said Rivlin.
Roee Shafir, a restoration expert at the museum, said the repairs would be fairly simple, as the pieces were from a single, complete jar. Archaeologists often face the more daunting task of sifting through piles of shards from multiple objects and trying to piece them together.
Experts used 3D technology, hi-resolution videos, and special glue to painstakingly reconstruct the large jar.
Less than two weeks after it broke, the jar went back on display at the museum. The gluing process left small hairline cracks, and a few pieces are missing, but the jar’s impressive size remains.
The only noticeable difference in the exhibit was a new sign reading “please don’t touch.”
VICTORIA – The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province.
Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said Monday that it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a “better and second chance at life in the wild.”
Scapillati said what’s exciting about the project is that the government is open to working with outside experts and the public.
“So, they’ll be working through Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding, bringing in the latest techniques and training expertise from leading experts,” he said in an interview.
B.C. government data show conservation officers destroyed 603 black bears and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while 154 black bears were killed by officers in the first six months of this year.
Scapillati said the group will publish a report with recommendations by next spring, while an independent oversight committee will be set up to review all bear encounters with conservation officers to provide advice to the government.
Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement that they are looking for new ways to ensure conservation officers “have the trust of the communities they serve,” and the panel will make recommendations to enhance officer training and improve policies.
Lesley Fox, with the wildlife protection group The Fur-Bearers, said they’ve been calling for such a committee for decades.
“This move demonstrates the government is listening,” said Fox. “I suspect, because of the impending election, their listening skills are potentially a little sharper than they normally are.”
Fox said the partnership came from “a place of long frustration” as provincial conservation officers kill more than 500 black bears every year on average, and the public is “no longer tolerating this kind of approach.”
“I think that the conservation officer service and the B.C. government are aware they need to change, and certainly the public has been asking for it,” said Fox.
Fox said there’s a lot of optimism about the new partnership, but, as with any government, there will likely be a lot of red tape to get through.
“I think speed is going to be important, whether or not the committee has the ability to make change and make change relatively quickly without having to study an issue to death, ” said Fox.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.
The European Space Agency is fast-tracking a new mission called Ramses, which will fly to near-Earth asteroid 99942 Apophis and join the space rock in 2029 when it comes very close to our planet — closer even than the region where geosynchronous satellites sit.
Ramses is short for Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety and, as its name suggests, is the next phase in humanity’s efforts to learn more about near-Earth asteroids (NEOs) and how we might deflect them should one ever be discovered on a collision course with planet Earth.
In order to launch in time to rendezvous with Apophis in February 2029, scientists at the European Space Agency have been given permission to start planning Ramses even before the multinational space agency officially adopts the mission. The sanctioning and appropriation of funding for the Ramses mission will hopefully take place at ESA’s Ministerial Council meeting (involving representatives from each of ESA’s member states) in November of 2025. To arrive at Apophis in February 2029, launch would have to take place in April 2028, the agency says.
This is a big deal because large asteroids don’t come this close to Earth very often. It is thus scientifically precious that, on April 13, 2029, Apophis will pass within 19,794 miles (31,860 kilometers) of Earth. For comparison, geosynchronous orbit is 22,236 miles (35,786 km) above Earth’s surface. Such close fly-bys by asteroids hundreds of meters across (Apophis is about 1,230 feet, or 375 meters, across) only occur on average once every 5,000 to 10,000 years. Miss this one, and we’ve got a long time to wait for the next.
When Apophis was discovered in 2004, it was for a short time the most dangerous asteroid known, being classified as having the potential to impact with Earth possibly in 2029, 2036, or 2068. Should an asteroid of its size strike Earth, it could gouge out a crater several kilometers across and devastate a country with shock waves, flash heating and earth tremors. If it crashed down in the ocean, it could send a towering tsunami to devastate coastlines in multiple countries.
Over time, as our knowledge of Apophis’ orbit became more refined, however, the risk of impact greatly went down. Radar observations of the asteroid in March of 2021 reduced the uncertainty in Apophis’ orbit from hundreds of kilometers to just a few kilometers, finally removing any lingering worries about an impact — at least for the next 100 years. (Beyond 100 years, asteroid orbits can become too unpredictable to plot with any accuracy, but there’s currently no suggestion that an impact will occur after 100 years.) So, Earth is expected to be perfectly safe in 2029 when Apophis comes through. Still, scientists want to see how Apophis responds by coming so close to Earth and entering our planet’s gravitational field.
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“There is still so much we have yet to learn about asteroids but, until now, we have had to travel deep into the solar system to study them and perform experiments ourselves to interact with their surface,” said Patrick Michel, who is the Director of Research at CNRS at Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur in Nice, France, in a statement. “Nature is bringing one to us and conducting the experiment itself. All we need to do is watch as Apophis is stretched and squeezed by strong tidal forces that may trigger landslides and other disturbances and reveal new material from beneath the surface.”
The Goldstone radar’s imagery of asteroid 99942 Apophis as it made its closest approach to Earth, in March 2021. (Image credit: NASA/JPL–Caltech/NSF/AUI/GBO)
By arriving at Apophis before the asteroid’s close encounter with Earth, and sticking with it throughout the flyby and beyond, Ramses will be in prime position to conduct before-and-after surveys to see how Apophis reacts to Earth. By looking for disturbances Earth’s gravitational tidal forces trigger on the asteroid’s surface, Ramses will be able to learn about Apophis’ internal structure, density, porosity and composition, all of which are characteristics that we would need to first understand before considering how best to deflect a similar asteroid were one ever found to be on a collision course with our world.
Besides assisting in protecting Earth, learning about Apophis will give scientists further insights into how similar asteroids formed in the early solar system, and, in the process, how planets (including Earth) formed out of the same material.
One way we already know Earth will affect Apophis is by changing its orbit. Currently, Apophis is categorized as an Aten-type asteroid, which is what we call the class of near-Earth objects that have a shorter orbit around the sun than Earth does. Apophis currently gets as far as 0.92 astronomical units (137.6 million km, or 85.5 million miles) from the sun. However, our planet will give Apophis a gravitational nudge that will enlarge its orbit to 1.1 astronomical units (164.6 million km, or 102 million miles), such that its orbital period becomes longer than Earth’s.
It will then be classed as an Apollo-type asteroid.
Ramses won’t be alone in tracking Apophis. NASA has repurposed their OSIRIS-REx mission, which returned a sample from another near-Earth asteroid, 101955 Bennu, in 2023. However, the spacecraft, renamed OSIRIS-APEX (Apophis Explorer), won’t arrive at the asteroid until April 23, 2029, ten days after the close encounter with Earth. OSIRIS-APEX will initially perform a flyby of Apophis at a distance of about 2,500 miles (4,000 km) from the object, then return in June that year to settle into orbit around Apophis for an 18-month mission.
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Furthermore, the European Space Agency still plans on launching its Hera spacecraft in October 2024 to follow-up on the DART mission to the double asteroid Didymos and Dimorphos. DART impacted the latter in a test of kinetic impactor capabilities for potentially changing a hazardous asteroid’s orbit around our planet. Hera will survey the binary asteroid system and observe the crater made by DART’s sacrifice to gain a better understanding of Dimorphos’ structure and composition post-impact, so that we can place the results in context.
The more near-Earth asteroids like Dimorphos and Apophis that we study, the greater that context becomes. Perhaps, one day, the understanding that we have gained from these missions will indeed save our planet.
