With every new finding, it seems like quantum computing is coming closer and closer to being a reality. The latest of these breakthroughs is the ability to construct a key building block of a larger quantum computer, the Fredkin Gate.
The main difference between quantum computers and those we use currently is the quantum computers’ use of qubits rather than the typical bit. These qubits are both 0 and 1 simultaneously and if successfully harnessed are expected to offer enormous jumps in processing power by comparison. The hard part is being able to make use of these qubits in quantum circuitry.
The Fredkin Gate or controlled-SWAP gate is a mechanism that maps 2 bits, based on the value of a third. If this is applied to quantum computing, it will allow greater control over qubits by allowing the values of two to be swapped. This quantum circuitry is incredibly complex and the creation of this gate has been impossible until now. The standard five logical operations that are required for a regular Fredkin Gate have been reduced to a single operation by researchers from Griffith University and the University of Queensland who utilized quantum entanglement of particles of light to make it possible. In short, this research proves the possibility of constructing large gates in quantum circuitry without requiring them to be constructed from a number of smaller logic gates.
This research, along with Florida State University National High Magnetic Field Laboratory’s work on developing “noise cancelling” technology to reduce the interference of magnetism on qubits, could be the stepping-stones that quantum computing really needs to get its feet outside of specific purpose machines. Hopefully, in the near future, we will see how these researchers and others put all these advancements together and we may just see a fully fledged quantum computer sooner than we think.
