The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) will work with Orca Computer to develop defence applications with quantum computing.
While most computers process data in bits, with a binary value of either zero or one, quantum computers use a two-state unit for data processing called a qubit, which represents several digits simultaneously through a process known as superposition. By being able to bridge binary digits, and cope with high levels of uncertainty, the devices can make highly complex calculations that cannot be done by regular computers.
Stephen Till of the Ministry’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DTSL) called the purchase a “milestone moment”.
However, Professor Winfried Hensinger, head of the Sussex Centre for Quantum Technologies at the University of Sussex, told the BBC that the true potential of quantum computers will take time to fully materialise, as these devices “can't actually solve any practical problems yet”.
Orca's system...