The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has acquired the government's first quantum computer.
Quantum computers can make very complex calculations extremely quickly and their creators say they can solve the problems regular computers cannot.
According to reports, the ministry will work with London-based firm Orca Computing on applying the computers to ‘defence applications’.
The use of quantum computing for the UK government marked a ‘milestone moment’, according to Stephen Till of the ministry’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DTSL).
The MoD will work with British company Orca Computing to explore applications for quantum technology in defence.
Stephen Till, of the MoD's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL), called it a "milestone moment".
The computers found in most of our homes and workplaces process data in bits, which have a binary value of either zero or one.
Most computers process data in bits, which have a binary value of either zero or one, whereas quantum computers use a two-state unit for data processing called a qubit.
The only trouble is that quantum computers are a little too advanced at this point – there’s not a whole lot they can actually do yet.
But that’s likely to change as the future catches up with them.
Quantum computers instead use a two-state unit for data processing called a qubit.