Why haven't Quantum computers been created for domestic use and what are the challenges for it?

[Actual_Criminal]

What's the main technical reason that is stopping Quantum computers being made commercially available for domestic use? 

 

Also, who is the manufacture of the parts? Is it AMD/Intel?

[Freakwise]

10 minutes ago, Actual_Criminal said:

What's the main technical reason that is stopping Quantum computers being made commercially available for domestic use? 

 

Also, who is the manufacture of the parts? Is it AMD/Intel?

Quantum computer need constant cooling at absolute zero to make the system stable and to transform the copper into superconductors and as for now need seperate normal computer as translation layer

 

Edit: the most notable maker is d-wave which Linus have already made video about it and literally an entire room just for the Faraday cage 

While taking 3-7 days just to boot up and jump into workable state

Edited May 19, 2021 by Liam danu

[jaslion]

Multiple firms make them. Quantum computers aren't fully stable yet and they need a MASSIVE installation for one chip to run. They are available for purchase by basically anyone if you can fork up the money. They are still in their infancy and are simply massive. Their use is also still being discovered as previously they weren't usable due to giving inconsistent results.

[Helpful Tech Witch]

to quote the colonel:

"Because its this big, and we need it this big."

[Stahlmann]

Afaik they also use completely different instruction sets and are simply for other usecases than x86 or ARM CPUs.

[Arika]

because there is no "domestic" use for them. quantum computers serve a completely different purpose than a traditional computer

[Chris Pratt]

In addition to the existing answers, there's no consumer viable software to run on them anyways. It's not like you're going to be playing games or knocking out a document in MS Word on them. One, that's not what they're useful for, and two, all that software would have to be rewritten entirely from scratch.

[LAwLz]

I mean... isn't this kind of obvious?

The current quantum computers aren't like a chip you put into an AM4 socket and then you got a quantum computer.

 

• They cost a large fortune. 
• They require extreme cooling. Not even Corsair's highest end AIO cooler with 3 fans can cool it.
• None of the software you have ever used works with it, except maybe DOOM.
• They take up a massive amount of space. Larger than the original Xbox even.
• They generate a massive amount of noise.
• They use a ton of power.
• They are currently not that high performing.

The list goes on.

 

[Freakwise]

3 minutes ago, LAwLz said:

None of the software you have ever used works with it, except maybe DOOM.

B-b-but, what if i-i just want to p-play DOOM

[akio123008]

Quantum computers are very good at certain quite specific tasks. None of those tasks is anything an ordinary person would want to run on their home machine.

 

There's a common misconception that a quantum computer is "just a really really fast computer", but it's not. It's a totally different type of machine from an ordinary computer, which is only suitable for a select set of tasks.

[Actual_Criminal]

29 minutes ago, akio123008 said:

Quantum computers are very good at certain quite specific tasks. None of those tasks is anything an ordinary person would want to run on their home machine.

 

There's a common misconception that a quantum computer is "just a really really fast computer", but it's not. It's a totally different type of machine from an ordinary computer, which is only suitable for a select set of tasks.

I see. Some how about a hybrid computer that uses both chips to get the best of both world in terms of the tasks? 

 

It would be hard, but I bet something like that is only 10-20 years away.

[tikker]

23 minutes ago, Actual_Criminal said:

It would be hard, but I bet something like that is only 10-20 years away.

There's a reason we have the saying "Fusion is always 50 years away" :P

 

If we ever see them for consumers, the first step would probably need to be to get them to run at or near room temperature. That's a long way off from the near-absolute zero they currently run at.

[porina]

1 hour ago, Actual_Criminal said:

What's the main technical reason that is stopping Quantum computers being made commercially available for domestic use? 

You're basically looking way too far ahead. Quantum computers are hardly a thing at all outside research labs, where they're little more than proof of concept devices. They're still trying to figure out how to make them big and stable enough to be really useful. Very early days still and far from commercially viable.

[BetteBalterZen]

I've seen a video with a lady that explains quantum computers to children and up to professers. 

I think I remember her saying that quantum computers will never, ever replace traditional computers because they works very differently and therefore quantum computers would use a lot more time than traditional computers in normal every day tasks, also quantum computers lose their memory(storage memory) after a certain short period of time < this is one of the biggest challenges currently with Quantum computers

[WolframaticAlpha]

1 hour ago, Actual_Criminal said:

What's the main technical reason that is stopping Quantum computers being made commercially available for domestic use? 

 

Also, who is the manufacture of the parts? Is it AMD/Intel?

At the most quantum computers will be able to aid you. It won't become your daily driver anytime soon.

[akio123008]

1 hour ago, Actual_Criminal said:

Some how about a hybrid computer that uses both chips to get the best of both world in terms of the tasks? 

Even in that case, it wouldn't be worth it. The operations a quantum computer will perform are pretty useless to most people so this machine so the cost of having one integrated in your pc wouldn't be justified. Even if it was cheap. 

 

Imagine you had a PCIe quantum computer that you could simply slot into a normal computer. Now, for an ordinary person, doing that would make about as much sense as a blind person installing an RTX 3090.

 

[FakeATF]

As stated above, Quantum computers aren't domestically viable/available because they aren't designed for it. Their astronomical cost, and high size and power draw are just a few of the reasons why we don't see them in homes. Think of the infancy of standard computers. Extremely large, expensive to own and maintain, and open to lots of improvement.

 

AFAIK, quantum computers work on entirely different computing principles than standard computers. Instead of working through a problem say, task by task, quantum computers get all of the possible answers at once. The quantum field of computing is not my area of expertise, though.

 

Even if they were viable for the average Joe to own, there is not much use case for them. They are not simply "faster computers". It's like comparing a horse and wagon to a pickup truck. Sure, both serve the same purpose, but they both do it in completely different ways. There are no reasons for the average consumer to own one. Standard computers serve that purpose just fine. 

 

That being said, they are useful for certain kinds of computing. Scientific problems and calculations, are their biggest use case.

[Uttamattamakin]

11 hours ago, BetteBalterZen said:

I've seen a video with a lady that explains quantum computers to children and up to professers. 

I think I remember her saying that quantum computers will never, ever replace traditional computers because they works very differently and therefore quantum computers would use a lot more time than traditional computers in normal every day tasks, also quantum computers lose their memory(storage memory) after a certain short period of time < this is one of the biggest challenges currently with Quantum computers

Sabine Hossenfelder PhD.  A well known theoretical physicist. 

 

 

TL DW  D Waves quantum computers are specific purpose devices.  (Think of something like an ASIC in the sense that they are specialized for one task or a very narrow set of task.) 

Plus the way they work is fundamentally different.  So far all quantum computers made have used superconducting Q-bits that need to be kept near absolute Zero.  There are theoretical ways to maybe create a higher temperature quantum computer.   IF they ever become a practical thing it will be like the evolution of digital computers.  From ENIAC to the Personal Computer took from 1944 to 1974 or 1984 really.  Maybe in 2054 we'll have something small enough to fit in a box on a persons desk.  Who knows what it'll be used for. 

[Triggeravus]

 

It would clash with pretty much everything in my house.  Don't think RGB would even help.  

[freeagent]

Because Praxair wont deliver Ln2 or anything else to your home.

 

And a few other smaller deets