IDG Contributor Network: Microsoft is looking to build quantum computers

Quantum computing sounds like something out of Star Trek, even when explained at the simplest of levels, but it's a field the tech sector is anxious to crack because of the enormous leap in computation power it offers. Google and IBM have spent a lot of money on their projects, and now Microsoft is bringing its considerable research facilities to bear.

Quantum computing offers potential leaps forward in computing because unlike conventional transistors, operates on the binary level of 0 or 1, which translates to an on or off state for the transistors -- quantum computing uses quantum bits, or qubits, which can exist simultaneously in both 0 and 1 states. This means potentially representing enormous number of values simultaneously, which translates to much faster computation.

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