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Microsoft unveils Majorana 1 quantum processor

azure.microsoft.com

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Re: Microsoft unveils Majorana 1 quantum processor

#51

Post by tempaccount420 »

hdjjhhvvhga wrote: post #25
tmvphil wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I work in the field. While all players are selling a dream right now, this announcement is even more farcical. Majoranas are still trying to get to the point where they have even one qubit that could be said to exist and whose performance can be quantified. The majorana approach (compared with more mature technologies like superconducting circuits or trapped ions) is a long game, where there are theoretical reasons t…

>> I need HN's classic pessimism to know if this is something to be excited about. Please chime in! > While all players are selling a dream right now, this announcement is even more farcical. Thanks a lot, I didn't get disappointed.

That's all you needed?

Re: Microsoft unveils Majorana 1 quantum processor

#54

Post by ykonstant »

Mistletoe wrote: post #36
bob1029 wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "Every single atom in this chip is placed purposefully. It is constructed from ground up. It is entirely a new state of matter. Think of us as building the picture by painting it atom by atom." https://youtu.be/wSHmygPQukQ (~7:55) I don't know if marketing BS could get more hyperbolic than this.

AI hype is running out of steam, the stock needs quantum power. MSFT is only up 1.99% for the past 1Y.

Hear me out, investors: Quantum Intelligence.

Re: Microsoft unveils Majorana 1 quantum processor

#55

Post by Agentus »

singularity2001 wrote: post #47
fooker wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No. The long explanations boil down to this: quantum computers ( so far ) are better ( given a million qubits ) than classical computers at ( problems that are in disguise ) simulating quantum computers.

given a million qubits ... also last time I checked the record was 80 qubits and with every doubling of the cubits the complexity of the system and the impurities and the noise are increasing. so it's even questionable whether there will ever be useful quantum computers

i vaguely remember reading an article about solving the correlation between quantum decoherence and scaling of qubit numbers. i dont understand quantum computers so take it with a grain of salt.

but here’s what perplexity says: “Exponential Error Reduction: Willow demonstrates a scalable quantum error correction method, achieving an exponential reduction in error rates as the number of qubits increases125. This is crucial because qubits are prone to errors due to their sensitivity to environmental factors25. ”

Re: Microsoft unveils Majorana 1 quantum processor

#58

Post by RajT88 »

crystal_revenge wrote: post #41
erikig wrote: post #16

From a casual observer, it seemed like Microsoft's Majorana approach had hit a wall a few years back when there were retractions by the lead researchers. I wonder what's changed? https://cacm.acm.org/news/majorana-meltdown-jeopardizes-micr...

> I wonder what's changed? Maybe I'm too cynical, but I suspect pressure from leadership to package whatever they had in vague language and ambiguous terms to create marketing copy that makes it appear the team is doing amazing work even though in two years we'll still be in roughly the same place we are today wrt quantum computing. Reading through the announcement I see lots of interesting sounding ideas and claims…

That chip die sure looks cool though!

Re: Microsoft unveils Majorana 1 quantum processor

#59

Post by fsh »

paulirwin wrote: post #27

Can someone check my understanding: does this mean they have eight logical qubits on the chip? It appears that way from the graphic where it zooms into each logical qubit, although it only shows two there. If that is true, it sounds like having a plan to scale to millions of logical qubits on a chip is even more impressive.

They have never demonstrated even a single physical qubit.

Microsoft has claimed for a while to have observed some signatures of quantized Majorana conductance which might potentially allow building a qubit in the future. However, other researches in the field have strongly criticized their analysis, and the field is full of retracted papers and allegations of scientific misconduct.

Re: Microsoft unveils Majorana 1 quantum processor

#60

Post by benhauer »

kjellsbells wrote: post #49
hdjjhhvvhga wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> I need HN's classic pessimism to know if this is something to be excited about. Please chime in! > While all players are selling a dream right now, this announcement is even more farcical. Thanks a lot, I didn't get disappointed.

Another take, to feed your cynicism: MSFT need money to keep investing in this sort of science. By posting announcements like this they hope to become the obvious place for investors interested in quantum to park their money. Stock price goes brrr, MSFT wins. More cynical still: what exactly has the Strategic Missions and Technologies unit achieved in the last few years? Burned a few billion on Azure for Operators, a…

Does MSFT sell new stock? If not, how does the stock price going up affect their ability to invest?
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