From Bits to Qubits: Majorana 1 and the Quantum Future

Imagine a medical machine so intelligent it could invent cures for a dozen cancers within a week. Or a chess computer so powerful it could trash every one of the top 20 players in the world and do so simultaneously. Or a billiard-playing robot so powerful it could ‘break’ (or start) a hundred games all at once and get every ball into every hole in the table.

Now imaging not having to imagine it anymore because, behold, the above are just a handful of possibilities that quantum computing offers—and recently Microsoft just took the world one step closer towards a quantum future. It’s funny how the same company that can’t make the Bing search engine attractive enough nevertheless had a breakthrough with their "Majorana 1" quantum processor.

If you’re wondering what the big deal is, what exactly quantum computing is in layman’s language (and how it differs from its non-quantum siblings), why it’s so powerful, etc below is a quick primer.

The basic building block of a quantum computer is called a qubit.

You may think of a qubit as a spinning coin. When it’s in the air, it’s not just heads or tails—it’s kind of both until it lands. Essentially, quantum computing has replaced digital bits (which can exist in only one state at a time) with atomic spin (which can exist in simultaneous states) (see Note 1). This ability for objects to exist in simultaneously in multiple states is called superposition i.e. a qubit can be 0, 1, or a mix of both until you “look” at it (measure it).

Superpositioning quantum computers try tons of possibilities all at once, like guessing every answer to a math test in one go.

Not only that, but qubits also interact with one another, a phenomenon called entanglement. It’s kinda like how Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin Rumsani always know what the other’s thinking, upping their synchronization and gameplay. Likewise when qubits get entangled, they’re linked up so that if you change one, the other instantly changes too. It’s like magic, but quantum physics enthusiasts won’t be surprised: the subatomic world makes Alice’s Wonderland look boring.

The bottom line is superposition and entanglement enables quantum computers to do super complex stuff, making them exponentially more powerful than digital computers because you double the number of interactions every time you add an additional qubit.

Coherence and the Majorana 1 Solution

However, one huge challenge with quantum computing is this thing called coherence.

You know how great artists or athletes often need absolutely perfect silence to do their thing? As in, a bit of flashing light or noise tends to distract them and they don’t perform optimally? This is sorta how it is with quantum computers.

Michio Kaku explains it best:

“In order for quantum computers to work, atoms have to be arranged precisely so that they vibrate in unison. This is called coherence. But atoms are incredibly small and sensitive objects. The smallest impurity or disturbance from the outside world (also known as ‘noise’) can cause this array of atoms to fall out of coherence, ruining the entire calculation. This fragility is the main problem facing quantum computers. So the trillion-dollar question is: Can we control decoherence?” (see Note 2)

Enter, Microsoft. The same folks behind the annoying and energy-consuming MS Teams have somehow taken a bold step forward towards fixing decoherence.

Their Majorana 1 quantum processor uses a sexy term called topological qubits, based on something called Majorana zero modes (apparently a new state of matter—I’ll leave you to google that up!). Topological protection builds qubits in a way that their quantum info is spread out and "braided" together in a way which makes them more stable.

It’s like instead of arranging cookies so they’re just sitting on the table vulnerable to falling off (if someone shakes the table), you somehow bake them together so they ‘stick’ more strongly!

Noise has a tougher time breaking them compared to other qubits (like those in Google’s or IBM’s systems). Given their sturdiness, Majorana qubits might need way fewer extra qubits to fix errors (compared to other quantum computers) leaving more power for actual computing.

Long and short, these qubits are special because they’re naturally more resistant to losing coherence and thus able to function more effectively—this is why the world got excited with Microsoft’s latest achievement.

If Majorana 1 really works as promised (and that’s still being tested), it could mean quantum computers can stay coherent longer without constant babysitting or extremely low temperatures where noise is at an absolute minimum (see note 3). That’s a huge step toward making them practical—able to run longer, more complex calculations without falling apart, thus enabling us to add more and more qubits into our processing (see Note 4).

It’s almost as if a prototype of a spaceship was created which allowed us to visit Mars within three weeks instead of the presently estimated three years. Or Pfizer has completed an experiment which successfully increased the IQ of teenagers by 100 points!

Kaku even claims that quantum computing can supercharge everything from cryptography to medicine to revolutions in energy to climate fixes. A computer with a million qubits could even allow the simulation of entire eco-systems, the creation of new (weird?) new materials, cracking Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), even time travel(!).

More down-to-earth but no less dramatically, think about other super-complex problems we’ve faced as individuals or as a society, and imagine how quantum processing may finally deliver a solution. I’ve already mentioned curing cancer (which is a popular item in quantum medicine circles) but another option is curing schizophrenia which has so far eluded almost all our scientists.

What other perennial problems continue to plague Malaysians? Traffic jams? Mental health? Obesity? Political transparency?

With quantum processing, the sky’s the limit. Hold on tight.

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Note 1: Essentially, non-quantum computers (those we, uh, presently work with) work with bits or tiny switches which can be either 0 or 1, not both. Quantum computers, however, work with qubits which can be both 0 and 1 at the same time.

Note 2: Kaku, M. (2023). Quantum supremacy: How the quantum computer revolution will change everything. Doubleday. Probably the most accessible introduction to the topic.

Note 3: It should be noted that, somehow, nature is able to solve the problem of coherence in quantum processing without requiring sophisticated man-made equipment or artificially created extreme temperatures. Enzyme catalysis, bird navigation, photosynthesis, DNA repair, etc. are all examples of how quantum processing happens naturally.

Note 4: Microsoft claims that Majorana can potentially allow a million qubits on a single quantum processor. To put this into context, the largest number of qubits available on a single quantum processor as of today is 1,180, achieved by Atom Computing with their neutral-atom-based quantum computer (announced in October 2023). Once that happens, once we have quantum processors working on 2^1,000,000 solutions in parallel(!!)