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Quantum computer circuitry illustration. Conventional computers store information as 'bits', with each transistor holding either a 1 or a 0. Quantum computers use quantum bits, or qubits, which operate according to two principles of quantum physics. One of the principles, supposition, allows a qubit to store a 1 and a 0 at the same time. This means two qubits can hold four values at once. The second principle, entanglement, means that the state of one qubit can depend on the state of another. As you expand the number of qubits, the machine becomes exponentially more powerful.

Physics

Quantum theory at 100: Let’s celebrate its power and provocation

Quantum theory started with a bout of hay fever, and went on to transform our view of the universe – but its legacy isn't complete

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Black Mirror returns full of delights and disappointments

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2G4A579 3D visualization of gravity distorsion, physical objects in orbit, space, general theory of relativity, law of universal gravitation, scientific

Physics

Why I still love reckoning with the quantum gravity problem

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A machine that delivers nutrient-rich liquid inside artificial chicken fibres

Environment

Lab-grown chicken could be made chewier using artificial capillaries

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Where exactly does the quantum world end and concrete reality begin?

Physics

Where exactly does the quantum world end and concrete reality begin?

Features

Could the ancient Greeks have invented quantum theory?

Physics

Could the ancient Greeks have invented quantum theory?

Features

What exactly would a full-scale quantum computer be useful for?

Physics

What exactly would a full-scale quantum computer be useful for?

Features

What does quantum theory really tell us about the nature of reality?

Physics

What does quantum theory really tell us about the nature of reality?

Features

A timeline of the most important events in quantum mechanics

Physics

A timeline of the most important events in quantum mechanics

Features

Carlo Rovelli on what we get wrong about the origins of quantum theory

Physics

Carlo Rovelli on what we get wrong about the origins of quantum theory

Conventional accounts of the birth of quantum theory often overlook the pivotal role of one of its luminaries – and this has led to a persistent misunderstanding of what it really means, argues physicist Carlo Rovelli

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Environment

Inside the mouth-watering race to master lab-grown chocolate

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Technology

US military launches initiative to find the best quantum computer

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Book Club: Readers admit they weren’t impressed with our latest novel

Culture

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Larry Niven on creating Ringworld, a 'great gaudy intellectual toy'

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