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The practical goal is to solve problems of factoring large numbers, optimizing logistics, and modeling chemical reactions faster than any supercomputer. In 2023, IBM researchers demonstrated successful calculation of molecular orbitals with an accuracy unachievable by classical methods.
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The problem is the instability of qubits: the slightest thermal noise causes decoherence, erasing the quantum state. Companies are racing between superconducting circuits, ion traps, and photonic architectures. If a quantum processor can be built from just 1,000 corrected qubits, pharmaceuticals, cryptography, and artificial intelligence could change dramatically.
