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Engineers built a quantum processor from 98 barium ions that makes very few errors.
Abstract
Imagine an orchestra of 98 musicians, each playing nearly flawlessly. Scientists have built the Helios quantum processor by linking ions in a ring, allowing computations with record-breaking accuracy and complexity. Could a machine like this one day solve problems that ordinary computers can't?
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In the new Helios processor, 98 barium ions circle along a closed loop, like horses on a carousel. This architecture allows any ion to exchange data with any other, making the system flexible and powerful. Laser pulses, like a conductor's baton, issue commands at the speed of light.
The main problem of quantum computing is errors. The more complex the task, the higher the chance of failure. Helios breaks this pattern: its operations are 99.992% accurate — roughly one error per 12,500 steps. This is a record for systems of this size.
Meanwhile, the temperature in the trap is close to absolute zero — colder than interstellar space. Laser measurements check the state of each ion. Such reliability paves the way for computations unimaginable for classical supercomputers. The idea of a quantum computer was proposed by Richard Feynman, and the ion trap technology was developed by David Wineland.
🎯 Barium-137 was not chosen by chance: its energy levels are so convenient that a laser tunes them like a remote flips through TV channels.
🎬 Such a machine resembles the quantum computer from Arthur C. Clarke's novel, capable of modeling consciousness.
