NIST works to bring more everyday understanding to quantum science

Quantum science, and especially its most popular offshoot, quantum computing, have come a long way in a fairly short period of time. Back when Nextgov/FCW first started reporting on quantum computing advances in government, a lot of people would write in and ask what quantum computing actually was, and quite a few articles and columns at the time attempted to explain how it all worked. There was even some degree of skepticism about whether a functioning quantum computer could actually ever be created

These days, quantum computing has reached quite a few major milestones. For example, Google and NASA achieved quantum supremacy, the point where a quantum computer is able to solve a problem that no traditional computer could within a reasonable amount of time, back in 2019. And agencies in cooperation with private companies continue to experiment with different types of qubits, which is what powers quantum computers, to find ever more efficient designs. Different qubit types now include trapped ions, superconducting, semiconducting and even photonic ones made of light. But even with all those advancements, both quantum computers and the science itself are out of reach and out of sight for most normal people.

That is why NIST is celebrating 2025 being designated as the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology with a campaign to educate people about quantum science and computers. This includes programs and papers that demonstrate how quantum science is already operating in the real world, while also attempting to explain in layman’s terms many of the bizarre-seeming concepts that help quantum computers work.

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