"A vision becomes reality"
- Laboratory for Solid State Physics (LFKP)
- Institute for Theoretical Physics (ITP)
As part of its focus topic "Venturing into the unknown — How fundamental research creates options for the future", ETH Globereports on the contributions of ETH physicists to the field of quantum computation, and to other areas where fundamental research already had a lasting effect.
"For a long time, people regarded quantum computers as an unattainable dream. We now know that it is possible to build such computers. But making them truly useful still requires a fair amount of fundamental research – and a lot of money."
Felix Würsten talked with ETH physics professors Matthias Troyer, Andreas Wallraff and Renato Renner about what it takes to turn the vision of a quantum computer into reality.
Examples from the past where researchers ventured into uncharted territory and ended up laying the foundation for future discoveries include the theoretical work of Albert Einstein on the photoelectric effect, which eventually led to the developemnt of solar cells; Felix Bloch's discovery of nuclear magnetic resonance, which is the basis of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); and the development of key components of one of the main measuring instruments on board ESA’s Herschel Space Observatory by ETH professor Arnold Benz and his team.