What are Quantum Computers??

A quantum computer is a hypothetical device for computation that makes direct use of distinctively quantum mechanical phenomena, such as superposition and entanglement, to perform operations on data. In a classical (or conventional) computer, information is stored as bits; in a quantum computer, it is stored as qubits (quantum bits). The basic principle of quantum computation is that the quantum properties can be used to represent and structure data, and that quantum mechanisms can be devised and built to perform operations with this data.<sup>[1]




D Wave Systems-Who are they??</sup>

D-Wave Systems is the world's first and only source of quantum computing for commercial applications. We believe quantum technology in concert with classical, digital processors, can and will represent broad and significant advancements in the application of computer science.

In February 2007, D-Wave unveiled and demonstrated this technology publicly for the first time. The company plans to deliver field-deployable systems in 2008.

On November 12 2007,D-Wave Systems puts the world’s first commercial quantum computer on display in an online demonstration here this week at the prestigious SCO7 Conference -- an international gathering of technologists and computer scientists focused on high performance computing, networking, storage and analysis.

The company introduced its revolutionary 16 qubit machine last February in Silicon Valley, California. “Advancing the machine to 28 qubits in such a short space of time lends credibility to our claim of having a scaleable architecture” stated Herb Martin, D-Wave’s CEO. “Our product roadmap takes us to 512 qubits in the second quarter of 2008 and 1024 qubits by the end of that year. At this point we will see applications performance far superior to that available on classical digital machines.”

D-Wave claims that in June 2009 the on-line quantum computing service will be available for “Monte Carlo” simulation targeted at pricing and risk analysis in the Banking and Insurance community. This will be followed by a quantum simulation capability for chemical, material and life science applications.