(SCIENCE Alert] Scientists have developed a new kind of cryogenic computer chip capable of functioning at temperatures so cold, it approaches the theoretical limit of absolute zero.This cryogenic system, called Gooseberry, lays the groundwork for what could be a revolution in quantum computing – enabling a new generation of machines to perform calculations with thousands of qubits or more, whereas today's most advanced devices comprise only dozens.
"The world's biggest quantum computers currently operate with just 50 or so qubits," explains quantum physicist David Reilly from the University of Sydney and Microsoft's Quantum Laboratory.
"This small scale is partly because of limits to the physical architecture that control the qubits."
That physical architecture is constrained because of the extreme conditions qubits need to perform quantum mechanical calculations.