Microsoft has announced plans to build a quantum supercomputer after researchers said the next-generation machines will be able to outperform standard computers within the next two years. Quantum computers have the potential to be orders of magnitude more powerful than today’s leading supercomputers, but have so far failed to compete when it comes to practical tasks. A recent benchmark experiment from quantum computing researchers at IBM suggests that the machines will soon be able to perform useful calculations “at a scale where classical computers will struggle”, opening up a vast number of applications. “These machines are coming,” Sabrina Maniscalco, chief executive of quantum computing startup Algorithmiq, told the scientific journal Nature which published the research this month. Microsoft revealed its roadmap for building its first “quantum supercomputer” on Wednesday, following several years of research and hundreds of millions of dollars of investment into the technology. Quantum computers work by replacing traditional bits – the ‘ones’ and ‘zeros’ used to store and transfer digital data – with quantum bits, called qubits, that make use of a quantum phenomena known as superposition to exist in two states at once. This means they can serve as both a ‘one’ and a ‘zero’ simultaneously, so that each qubit added makes them exponentially more powerful than their traditional counterparts. Microsoft said it made its own breakthrough by engineering a new type of qubit, described in the journal Physical Review B on Wednesday, that is stable enough to work at scale on a quantum supercomputer. Microsoft describes a quantum supercomputer as one that can perform one million quantum operations per second, claiming its construction will be completed within the next decade. “Microsoft has achieved the first milestone towards creating a reliable and practical quantum supercomputer,” the firm wrote in a blog post detailing the roadmap. “Today marks an important moment on our path to engineering a quantum supercomputer and ultimately empowering scientists to solve many of the hardest problems facing our planet.” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said it was his company’s goal “to compress the next 250 years of chemistry and materials science into the next 25.” The announcements from IBM and Microsoft follow several major quantum computing breakthroughs in recent years. In 2019, scientists at Google announced that they had achieved something known as quantum supremacy, when their Sycamore quantum computer was able to solve a problem in 200 seconds that would have taken the most powerful supercomputer in the world 10,000 years to solve. The milestone has since been repeated by researchers in China, whose quantum computer is able to perform computations nearly 100 trillion times faster than the world’s most powerful supercomputer. While impressive, neither the Chinese machine nor Google’s Sycamore had any practical use. John Martinis, one of the Google researchers behind the 2019 milestone, said the latest news made him “optimistic that this will work in other systems and more complicated algorithms”. Read More Quantum computer discovers bizarre particle that remembers its past Quantum computing adopted by airlines and car makers in hunt for world's first commercial applications Breakthrough could soon allow us to actually use quantum computers, scientists say Elon Musk confirms cage fight with Mark Zuckerberg Apple starts letting developers make apps for its upcoming headset

Sam Asghari made his SAG-AFTRA picket line debut after splitting with Britney Spears

Looking at The Open Championship ticket prices to see how much it costs fans to get in and attend the 2023 tournament at Royal Liverpool.For many golf fans who aren't in the United Kingdom, it's a full-on marathon to watch The Open Championship, one that we're all prepared for thi...

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 35 points, Jalen Williams had 31 and the Oklahoma City Thunder used a big fourth quarter to beat the Phoenix Suns 111-99 on Sunday night

Expectations were high for the United States Women’s National Team before the World Cup this year, but things hardly went as planned for them. The side, which is the most successful in Women’s international history, struggled to make it out of the group stages before crashing out to Sweden in the Round of 16. It’s a surprise result considering the talent in the side and their legacy in the competition – and it’s certainly not the outcome that Netflix were hoping for. The streaming platform has been following the side behind the scenes as they attempted to retain the trophy they won back in 2019 and 2015. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Despite the USA being knocked out before the semi-finals for the first time ever, the series is still expected to be aired. The show is said to feature the likes of USA players Alyssa Thompson, Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe. Rapinoe has been an icon of the Women’s game for years now, but she was one of the players to miss crucial penalties in the shootout against Sweden alongside Sophia Smith and Kelly O'Hara. Football fans will still be expected to watch the series, which is set to follow a similar format to the sports documentary series Break Point, Full Swing and Formula 1: Drive to Survive. The series will still air, but football fans are jokingly asking just how long the series will be after the US team were dumped out far earlier than expected. One social media user cheekily referred to the doc as a “mini-series”. “They’re out in the last 16 so this can be an Instagram reel now,” another wrote. One more said: “Netflix will go to any length to cancel a show early.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Robert Helenius failed a pre-fight drugs test prior to his recent heavyweight fight with former world champion Anthony Joshua, it has been revealed. The 39-year-old Finn, knocked out by Joshua in the seventh round at London’s O2 Arena on 12 August, had stepped in as a late replacement for Dillian Whyte, who had failed a drugs test himself. Fight promoter Matchroom Boxing confirmed in a statement on Twitter that Helenius had “returned an adverse analytical finding” after being voluntarily tested on 11 August. Matchroom Boxing said: “Today, the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (Vada) has informed Matchroom and the British Boxing Board of Control that Robert Helenius has returned an adverse analytical finding as part of a random anti-doping protocol. “Helenius was voluntarily tested on Friday, 11 August before the heavyweight fighter’s defeat by Anthony Joshua in London on Saturday, 12 August. The result was made known to Matchroom today. “Matchroom defers to the relevant regulatory authorities on next steps. We vehemently continue to support voluntary anti-doping testing. We are committed to promoting a clean and fair sport for all athletes.” Joshua had been scheduled to fight British rival Whyte at the O2 Arena on 12 August before the latter returned an adverse finding from a doping test. Whyte later said he was “shocked and devastated” to learn of Vada’s findings and intended to prove his innocence. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

JBS SA, the world’s largest meat supplier, expects profits at its largest unit to remain tight as cattle

An intrepid traveller completed on Sunday a solo rowing expedition from Warsaw to Paris through the rivers and canals of five countries aiming to draw attention to...

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By Tim Hepher and Alexander Cornwell DUBAI Middle East carriers look set to order tens of billions of