Majorana 1 - UPSC Current Affairs 2025

Recently, Microsoft announced the arrival of Majorana 1, a new chip that produces more reliable and scalable qubits than its predecessors.

It is the world’s first quantum chip using Topological Core architecture.
It introduces topoconductors, materials that can observe and control Majorana particles for stable, error-resistant quantum operations.
- Topoconductors are made by combining indium arsenide (a semiconductor) and aluminum (a superconductor).
- When cooled to near absolute zero and tuned with magnetic fields, the semiconductor is married with superconductivity.
It contains eight “qubits,” or quantum bits (fundamental unit of information in quantum computing), with the potential to scale to 1 million qubits

This advancement is compared to the invention of semiconductors, which enabled modern electronics.
Microsoft’s goal is to build quantum computers with a million qubits, needed to tackle real-world industrial and scientific problems.
Microsoft’s approach is likened to inventing the “transistor for the quantum age.”
The unique combination of materials and details in their new stack has enabled the development of a new kind of qubit and architecture.
Other Quantum Computing Chips: Willow chip by Google and Quantum Heron by IBM

A revolutionary new design for quantum computing that leverages topoconductors to control and observe Majorana particles.
It reduces the need for extensive error correction compared to other quantum computing approaches.
It can scale to millions of qubits, a crucial step for solving industrial-scale problems.
It simplifies the quantum computing process and makes it easier to build scalable quantum systems.
Its scalable qubits offer a clear path for solving real-world problems, such as developing self-healing materials or creating efficient catalysts to break down pollutants.
It allows users to design materials and molecules efficiently, leveraging quantum computing’s precision to bypass years of trial-and-error.