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- Exploits quantum mechanical effects to provide an entirely new type of computational resource
- Built around “qubits” rather than “bits”
- Operates in an extreme environment
- Enables quantum algorithms to solve very hard problems
- “The Fridge” is a closed cycle dilution refrigerator
- The superconducting processor generates no heat
- Cooled to 180x colder than interstellar space (0.015 Kelvin)
A Unique Processor Environment
- Shielded to 50,000× less than Earth’s magnetic field
- In a high vacuum: pressure is 10 billion times lower than atmospheric pressure
- 200 I/O and control lines from room temperature to the chip
- The system consumes less than 25 kW of power
- Power demand won’t increase with successive processor generations
- A lattice of 2000 tiny superconducting devices, known as qubits, is chilled close to absolute zero to harness quantum effects
- A user models a problem into a search for the “lowest energy point in a vast landscape”
- The processor considers all possibilities simultaneously to determine the lowest energy and the values that produce it
- Multiple solutions are returned to the user, scaled to show optimal answers
