Crosscut · 30 min
The Promise and Problem of Quantum Computing
Because the random jiggling of atoms constantly threatens to flip bits and ruin delicate calculations, quantum error correction is the only way to unlock the massive theoretical power of these new machines.
Researchers Reveal the Power of ‘Quantum Proofs’ × Thermodynamic Computers Go with the (Energy) Flow
Published 2026-09-16
0:00 / 30:12 · Narrator Sulafat/Charon/Vindemiatrix
In this episode
The connection
You asked about the significance of error correction in quantum computers, a question that gets right to the physical limits of these machines. In theory, they can solve math problems that would take an ordinary laptop thousands of years. Writing for Quanta Magazine earlier this summer, Ben Brubaker looks at the math behind this promise, showing how quantum physics creates new ways to calculate. But running those equations means fighting the physical world. In a separate piece, Philip Ball shows how the constant, random jiggling of atoms threatens to scramble delicate calculations. Reading them together sets up a sharp contrast between massive theoretical power and the messy physical noise that makes fixing errors a strict necessity.
Ben Brubaker leaves you staring at a highly delicate object: a quantum proof. To verify an impossible math problem, scientists have to rely on specific configurations of electrons. These states are so sensitive that the slightest bit of random heat or environmental noise could ruin the calculation. That constant battle against thermal jiggling is exactly where Philip Ball picks up the thread. But instead of trying to build thicker walls to protect a fragile circuit, the engineers in Ball's piece ask a completely different question. What if that disruptive heat could actually do the math for you? Read alongside Brubaker, Ball’s look at thermodynamic computing feels like a sudden reversal. Both writers are looking closely at the physical limits of how machines calculate. Brubaker shows computer scientists pushing quantum physics to its absolute limit to outsmart natural interference. Ball watches a different group of researchers decide to just surrender to it. Instead of fighting the random ripples of the universe to maintain a perfect one or zero, they want to let the chaos itself run the program.
What lingers is the friction between a flawless equation and a freezing, jittery machine. On paper, quantum math can solve problems that would outlast the sun. But the actual universe is noisy. Just one stray atom vibrating in the cold can shatter a perfect calculation. The tension sits right on that boundary between what the mind can map out and what nature will actually allow. If the physical world always pushes back, is there a hard limit to how much of that perfect math can actually be built?