Study: D-Wave is world's first quantum computer, not simulation

06-16-2014 • dvice.com

Although D-Wave calls their machine a quantum computer, many skeptics question if this computer is actually using quantum physics in its processes, or whether it's just been simulating those processes using classical mechanics. A team of researchers has put the D-Wave to the test. The result? The researchers concluded that the D-Wave is in fact an actual quantum computer. Phew.

Both Google and NASA believe that quantum computing is a valuable tool for analyzing big data, as well as the key to creating true artificial intelligence. But quantum computers are much more complicated than standard computers. Take your PC or laptop, for example, which does calculations with bits that either have a value of zero or one. Instead, quantum computers work with qubits that can have a value of zero, one, or both.