Touring a Quantum Museum
D-Wave Systems And Understanding The History of Quantum
While touring labs and museums these days is impossible in-person, I’m enjoying virtual walkthroughs instead. One in particular caught my attention, that being #D-Wave’s #quantumcomputing lab and museum. Yes, a company only 20 years old has a museum, this one located in Burnaby, BC, Canada. If you’re starting to learn about #quantumcomputer hardware, this is a great introduction from a company that focuses on the practical application of this advanced technology.
The tours, D-Wave Systems YouTube Video Tour are available to YouTube users. They’re broken up into 4 parts (as of today) with descriptions of previous generations of chips, sample holders, control electronics, wafers, fabrication masks, unit cells, couplers…I could go on. The museum maintains a Patent Wall (at least until they ran out of room — they’re over 160 now), and a Poster Wall which explains the history of D-Wave Systems and its processors.
Yet the most interesting part of the tour was getting to the ‘dilution fridge’ or refrigerator. If you’ve cozied up to quantum computing articles, posts, white papers in the past few years, like I have, you’ve heard about noise, errors, and interference all of which impact the pure processing and accuracy of quantum processors. A walkthrough of the D-Wave Advantage hardware illustrates how the various shield levels address those issues.
In the simplest terms, deep cold removes noise, hard vacuums remove gases, and Farraday cages removes electromagnetic disturbances. In terms of noise protection, D-Wave’s quantum chip operates in an environment of 15 milliKelvins or less above absolute zero at the bottom of the ‘chandelier’ with several stages above that reducing the temperature from 50 Kelvins (K) to 3K to 1 K and so on. Shielding in the form of a ‘vacuum can’ operates around the system to eliminate external gases/gas molecules from the dilution fridge/chamber. Electromagnetic interference or disturbances are eliminated by a Farraday cage.
Knowing how a quantum computer operates, especially within such a clean environment is helpful. Yet has the technology reached a practical level for businesses? Their client list including “Lockheed Martin (their original client), Google, NASA Ames, Volkswagen, DENSO, USRA, USC, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory” would say so.
As companies start to realize the potential impact of quantum technology, they will begin to invest in the technology at a rapid pace. Brian Burke, Chief of Research at Gartner told the Gartner symposium/ITxpo that ‘By 2023, 20% of organisations will be budgeting for quantum computing projects compared to less than 1% today’. The challenge will be in whether their competition is ahead of them in the race, and they are able to align their technology strategy with their business objectives (much like what happened with artificial intelligence). The next few years will be a fascinating time for businesses who chase this technology imperative.
In an earlier article, I wrote about the initiative of companies like #D-WaveSystems in supporting Covid researching by offering free time on their systems. Certainly quantum companies have the ability to address such laudable objectives like those embedded in the UN Sustainability 1 Goals. The potential for quantum computing systems to address traffic flow, ocean clean-up, medical research, education, clean energy and so much more is near.
Conclusion
Who knows what the D-Wave Systems’ Museum will look like in a few years? Maybe a few more walls will be required to house the many advancements in quantum computing hardware. Take one of their tours, watch this space for more on the advancing field of quantum computing. and watch for my new book “Quantum Boost: Using Quantum Computing to Supercharge Your Business” coming in 2021.
Copyright 2021 Aquitaine Innovation Advisors
Brian Lenahan is the author of four Amazon-published books on artificial intelligence including the Bestseller “Artificial Intelligence: Foundations for Business Leaders and Consultants”. He is a former executive in a Top 10 North American bank, a University Instructor, the Author-in-Residence of the AI Geeks community and mentors innovative companies in the Halton and Hamilton areas.
Email: ceo@aquitaineinnovationadvisors.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-lenahan-innovation/
