WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.480 --> 00:00:05.599 Welcome to the quart Side Quantum Physics Podcast, an exploration 2 00:00:05.679 --> 00:00:10.880 of the fundamental structure of reality where quantum laws govern matter, energy, 3 00:00:11.199 --> 00:00:16.239 and information. Here, uncertainty is a feature, not a flaw, 4 00:00:16.719 --> 00:00:19.239 and understanding begins at the smallest scales. 5 00:00:27.559 --> 00:00:29.800 I want you to imagine the computer of the future, 6 00:00:30.640 --> 00:00:32.799 just you know, picture the physical hardware in your head 7 00:00:32.880 --> 00:00:33.320 right now. 8 00:00:33.679 --> 00:00:36.560 Most people are probably picturing something pretty sterile. 9 00:00:36.640 --> 00:00:41.039 Right exactly, like glowing silicon wafer is stacked in some 10 00:00:41.240 --> 00:00:46.159 massive server farm. Or maybe those giant, super cooled gold 11 00:00:46.240 --> 00:00:49.719 chandeliers of wire that big tech companies are always showing 12 00:00:49.719 --> 00:00:50.759 off in their press photos. 13 00:00:50.880 --> 00:00:52.880 Yeah, the classic quantum chandelier. 14 00:00:53.039 --> 00:00:55.799 We are so culturally conditioned to think the next big 15 00:00:55.880 --> 00:00:58.880 leap in computing is just going to be like a colder, 16 00:00:59.039 --> 00:01:02.719 more densely passed version of traditional electronics. Yeah, but what 17 00:01:02.759 --> 00:01:05.680 if the hardware of tomorrow doesn't really look like electronics 18 00:01:05.680 --> 00:01:05.959 at all? 19 00:01:06.040 --> 00:01:07.799 What if it looks like a chemistry experiment. 20 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:11.640 Exactly, because today we are unpacking a major milestone from 21 00:01:11.680 --> 00:01:15.439 May twenty twenty six from Envision Quantum Technologies, and it 22 00:01:15.560 --> 00:01:18.200 sounds remarkably like science fiction. It really does. 23 00:01:18.239 --> 00:01:22.840 They basically took a single specifically engineered molecule, the Carbeene 24 00:01:22.920 --> 00:01:25.359 right right, very particular type of molecule called the carbine, 25 00:01:25.879 --> 00:01:29.040 and they successfully turned it into a fully functioning unit 26 00:01:29.079 --> 00:01:32.040 of quantum information, a molecular quibit. 27 00:01:32.239 --> 00:01:34.319 So if you're listening, just think about that for a second. 28 00:01:34.719 --> 00:01:38.239 Imagine if instead of waiting for some massive semiconductor foundry 29 00:01:38.280 --> 00:01:41.760 to shave like another nanimeter off a silicon chip, you 30 00:01:41.760 --> 00:01:46.200 could literally just synthesize a perfect batch of microscopic hard 31 00:01:46.280 --> 00:01:48.000 drives in a lab beaker. 32 00:01:48.200 --> 00:01:51.239 It's a complete inversion of how we think about engineering 33 00:01:51.879 --> 00:01:54.719 because for decades the assumption has been that you construct 34 00:01:54.719 --> 00:01:59.159 a computer from the top down, you know, manufacturing, etching, stamping, but. 35 00:01:59.159 --> 00:02:02.760 Brewing the basic building blocks of a supercomputer. That forces 36 00:02:02.840 --> 00:02:06.280 us to entirely rethink what a machine actually is. 37 00:02:06.480 --> 00:02:10.000 Absolutely and our goal today is to unpack exactly how 38 00:02:10.120 --> 00:02:13.719 these designer molecules actually hold data, why they might honestly 39 00:02:13.800 --> 00:02:16.840 give current quantum computers a real run for their money, 40 00:02:17.439 --> 00:02:20.400 and what this means for the future of the Internet. 41 00:02:20.639 --> 00:02:22.520 So to understand why this is such a big deal, 42 00:02:22.520 --> 00:02:24.400 we really have to look at the physical anatomy of 43 00:02:24.439 --> 00:02:28.560 the hardware itself, like what exactly is a carben and 44 00:02:28.599 --> 00:02:31.599 how does a cluster of atoms hold programmable information? 45 00:02:32.080 --> 00:02:33.680 Well, to answer that, we have to start with carbon. 46 00:02:33.719 --> 00:02:37.439 Carbon is basically the fundamental backbone of organic chemistry. In 47 00:02:37.479 --> 00:02:40.960 its most stable, happy state, a carbon atom likes to 48 00:02:41.039 --> 00:02:43.960 form four chemical bonds with the atoms around it. 49 00:02:44.039 --> 00:02:47.120 So like a standard methane molecule, you've got one carbon 50 00:02:47.159 --> 00:02:50.360 atom in the middle holding hands with four hydrogen. 51 00:02:49.879 --> 00:02:53.479 Atoms, exactly four hands holding four other atoms. But a 52 00:02:53.520 --> 00:02:57.159 carbine forces carbon into this highly unusual state where it 53 00:02:57.199 --> 00:02:58.520 only forms two bonds. 54 00:02:58.599 --> 00:03:02.319 Okay, so it's structural incomplete. It has empty hands. 55 00:03:02.439 --> 00:03:06.000 Yes, those empty hands are the defining feature. Because the 56 00:03:06.039 --> 00:03:09.039 carbon atom is only forming two bonds, it is left 57 00:03:09.080 --> 00:03:12.159 with two unshared, free floating electrons in its. 58 00:03:12.080 --> 00:03:14.439 Outer show the ivolink carbon right divalent. 59 00:03:14.800 --> 00:03:17.280 Now, in a normal setup, those two electrons might just 60 00:03:17.360 --> 00:03:19.520 pair up and cancel each other out, but in this 61 00:03:19.680 --> 00:03:23.520 specific carbiene they remain unpaired. They just sit there, highly 62 00:03:23.560 --> 00:03:26.400 reactive and incredibly sensitive to their environment. 63 00:03:26.719 --> 00:03:29.599 Those two lonely electrons are what actually store the data. 64 00:03:30.240 --> 00:03:32.840 The documentation points out that they create what's called a 65 00:03:32.879 --> 00:03:35.800 triplet state, which I mean I know, a classical computer 66 00:03:35.879 --> 00:03:38.319 stores data as a bit like a zero our. 67 00:03:38.360 --> 00:03:40.599 One, like a coin line flat on a table, its 68 00:03:40.639 --> 00:03:41.280 heads or its. 69 00:03:41.120 --> 00:03:45.400 Tails, right, But how does a triplet state physically store 70 00:03:45.759 --> 00:03:46.639 quantum information? 71 00:03:46.800 --> 00:03:49.400 It all comes down to quantum spin. You can think 72 00:03:49.400 --> 00:03:52.560 of an electron as having a tiny built in magnetic 73 00:03:52.599 --> 00:03:56.919 compass needle. Okay, And because these two electrons are unpaired 74 00:03:57.080 --> 00:04:00.759 but still interacting with each other, their needles basically align 75 00:04:00.840 --> 00:04:04.039 parallel to one another. They act as a single combined 76 00:04:04.120 --> 00:04:08.879 quantum system, and that parallel alignment gives them three possible 77 00:04:08.919 --> 00:04:12.560 spin configurations, hence the term, you know, triplet. But because 78 00:04:12.560 --> 00:04:15.400 it's a quantum system, it doesn't just pick one state 79 00:04:15.479 --> 00:04:16.079 and stay there. 80 00:04:16.199 --> 00:04:18.920 It sits in a superposition. I always like to picture 81 00:04:19.000 --> 00:04:21.160 quantum spin like a microscopic spinning top. 82 00:04:21.399 --> 00:04:22.399 That's a great analogy. 83 00:04:22.519 --> 00:04:24.519 Yeah, So a classical bit is like a top that 84 00:04:24.560 --> 00:04:27.680 has already fallen over. It's definitively pointing left or right. Yeah, 85 00:04:27.680 --> 00:04:31.319 But a quantum electron is an actively spinning top. It's 86 00:04:31.360 --> 00:04:35.360 holding an incredibly complex amount of positional data while it's 87 00:04:35.360 --> 00:04:38.399 in motion. It's in multiple orientations at the same time 88 00:04:38.600 --> 00:04:39.759 until we force it to stop. 89 00:04:39.920 --> 00:04:43.720 That captures the complexity perfectly, and the challenge for physicists 90 00:04:43.759 --> 00:04:46.720 hasn't really been proving that electrons spin. We know they do. 91 00:04:47.160 --> 00:04:50.319 The challenge is that these spinning tops are incredibly delicate. 92 00:04:50.480 --> 00:04:52.879 Like if the table gets bumped, the top falls. 93 00:04:52.639 --> 00:04:56.600 Over right, a stray magnetic field, a tiny change in heat, 94 00:04:56.720 --> 00:04:59.920 the top wobbles, it crashes, and all that quantum de 95 00:05:00.319 --> 00:05:01.240 is just gone. 96 00:05:01.680 --> 00:05:05.360 So they've stabilized these spins and large groups of molecules before. 97 00:05:05.160 --> 00:05:09.639 Right, they have in large concentrated clusters. But the massive 98 00:05:09.680 --> 00:05:13.879 shift here is that envision isolated and controlled the spin 99 00:05:14.000 --> 00:05:15.920 of one single molecule. 100 00:05:15.560 --> 00:05:18.120 Which is wild. The precision required for that is just 101 00:05:18.600 --> 00:05:20.439 it's hard to wrap your head around. It's like trying 102 00:05:20.439 --> 00:05:23.160 to pick out a single voice in a roaring stadium crowd. 103 00:05:23.240 --> 00:05:25.399 And not only did they isolate that single voice, they 104 00:05:25.560 --> 00:05:28.519 demonstrated perfect addressability. 105 00:05:27.839 --> 00:05:31.079 Meaning they could repeatedly control and read that one specific 106 00:05:31.199 --> 00:05:33.199 molecule over and over exactly. 107 00:05:33.360 --> 00:05:36.680 Plus they achieved spectral stability lasting over an hour. 108 00:05:36.879 --> 00:05:40.439 Wait, really an hour. In quantum physics, where states normally 109 00:05:40.480 --> 00:05:43.680 degrade in like fractions of a second, an hour is 110 00:05:43.680 --> 00:05:45.279 an absolute eternity. 111 00:05:45.319 --> 00:05:48.720 It really is the dividing line between theoretical physics and 112 00:05:48.959 --> 00:05:52.920 applied engineering. Hitting that single molecule level with that kind 113 00:05:52.959 --> 00:05:56.959 of stability means we finally have a viable individual building 114 00:05:56.959 --> 00:05:59.120 block for a real machine. 115 00:05:58.639 --> 00:06:01.600 Which immediately leads me to a pretty big mechanical problem. 116 00:06:01.639 --> 00:06:02.360 Okay, what's up. 117 00:06:02.519 --> 00:06:06.319 Well, if we have this incredibly fragile single molecule acting 118 00:06:06.319 --> 00:06:10.120 as our spinning top atom, how do we physically interact 119 00:06:10.120 --> 00:06:12.120 with it? I mean, you can't just solder a tiny 120 00:06:12.160 --> 00:06:14.360 copper wire into a single carbon atom. 121 00:06:14.480 --> 00:06:15.079 Definitely not. 122 00:06:15.240 --> 00:06:16.759 So if you want to write data to it or 123 00:06:16.800 --> 00:06:19.120 read the data back out, how do you do that 124 00:06:19.160 --> 00:06:21.079 without instantly knocking the top over? 125 00:06:21.279 --> 00:06:24.399 You abandon physical wiring completely. You have to rely on 126 00:06:24.439 --> 00:06:26.160 the optical interface. You use light. 127 00:06:26.279 --> 00:06:28.600 Wait, so we are pressing save using lasers. 128 00:06:28.639 --> 00:06:31.759 We are transferring angular momentum using photons. Yeah, but you 129 00:06:31.800 --> 00:06:34.560 can't just scatter these carbine molecules on a glass lide 130 00:06:34.560 --> 00:06:35.800 and shine a flashlight up there. 131 00:06:35.839 --> 00:06:36.319 Obviously not. 132 00:06:36.439 --> 00:06:40.000 They need a highly specialized support system. So what the 133 00:06:40.040 --> 00:06:43.240 researchers do is they take a precursor molecule, which is 134 00:06:43.240 --> 00:06:47.480 like a stable, chemically inactive version of the carbine, and 135 00:06:47.519 --> 00:06:50.240 they embed it deep inside a host crystal. 136 00:06:51.040 --> 00:06:53.480 I've heard this compared to freezing a seed in an 137 00:06:53.519 --> 00:06:57.199 ice cube tray, but that feels a bit, I don't know, 138 00:06:57.279 --> 00:06:59.600 too passive. It didn't really explain what the crystal is 139 00:06:59.600 --> 00:07:00.160 actually do. 140 00:07:00.399 --> 00:07:02.040 Yeah, A better way to look at it is that 141 00:07:02.040 --> 00:07:05.720 the host crystal acts as a tailored molecular shock absorber. 142 00:07:05.839 --> 00:07:08.839 Oh interesting because at the atomic scale, heat is really 143 00:07:09.040 --> 00:07:12.519 just movement, its atoms vibrating, So if the environment is vibrating, 144 00:07:12.560 --> 00:07:15.560 the molecule gets shaken apart and the quantum data is lost. 145 00:07:16.000 --> 00:07:20.319 But the crystal lattice is structurally matched to that precursor molecule. 146 00:07:20.800 --> 00:07:24.160 It acts like a custom foam case around a delicate watch. 147 00:07:24.639 --> 00:07:28.040 It absorbs and dampens all the acoustic and thermal vibrations 148 00:07:28.079 --> 00:07:29.439 from the outside world. 149 00:07:29.279 --> 00:07:32.639 So the molecule is perfectly cradled. But once it's locked 150 00:07:32.639 --> 00:07:34.959 in that shock absorber, how does the light actually turn 151 00:07:35.000 --> 00:07:35.199 it on? 152 00:07:35.480 --> 00:07:38.759 They hit the crystal with a very specific calibrated pulse 153 00:07:38.800 --> 00:07:40.000 of ultraviolet light. 154 00:07:40.120 --> 00:07:40.399 Okay. 155 00:07:40.399 --> 00:07:43.480 When the precursor molecule absorbs that UV light, a chemical 156 00:07:43.519 --> 00:07:46.519 bond breaks. It sheds a small fragment, usually in a 157 00:07:46.600 --> 00:07:49.279 nitrogen gas molecule, and what is left behind is the 158 00:07:49.319 --> 00:07:50.600 active carbine, so. 159 00:07:50.519 --> 00:07:53.759 It's positioned exactly where they want it, locked safely inside 160 00:07:53.759 --> 00:07:57.720 the crystal. Precisely, you essentially sculpt the hardware into existence 161 00:07:57.759 --> 00:08:01.560 remotely using a laser pointer is so cool. And once 162 00:08:01.600 --> 00:08:04.879 that carbene is active, they use different wavelengths of light 163 00:08:05.000 --> 00:08:09.120 to manipulate the spins of those two unsheared electrons. This 164 00:08:09.160 --> 00:08:10.720 is the spin photon interface. 165 00:08:11.040 --> 00:08:13.600 So how does the data transfer actually work there? 166 00:08:13.839 --> 00:08:17.319 When a photon hits the molecule, it doesn't just illuminate it. 167 00:08:17.639 --> 00:08:20.720 A photon actually carries a tiny amount of energy and 168 00:08:20.800 --> 00:08:24.959 angular momentum, So when the electron absorbs that photon, it 169 00:08:25.079 --> 00:08:29.399 physically absorbs that momentum, which forces its spin state to change. 170 00:08:29.439 --> 00:08:31.839 And that is how you write the data exactly. So 171 00:08:32.000 --> 00:08:34.360 is reading the data just the reverse process? 172 00:08:34.440 --> 00:08:35.200 Yeah, pretty much. 173 00:08:35.279 --> 00:08:35.519 Yeah. 174 00:08:35.559 --> 00:08:38.200 When the electron drops back down to a lower energy state, 175 00:08:38.519 --> 00:08:41.879 it emits a single photon back out, and the wavelength 176 00:08:41.919 --> 00:08:45.360 and polarization of that emitted photon tell us exactly what 177 00:08:45.440 --> 00:08:46.600 state the electron was in. 178 00:08:46.720 --> 00:08:49.840 So you are combining a matter quibit the physical electrons 179 00:08:49.840 --> 00:08:52.279 holding the memory with a flying quibot, which is the 180 00:08:52.279 --> 00:08:54.159 photon carrying the information away. 181 00:08:54.039 --> 00:08:57.639 Yes, exactly, which means the molecule is functioning as both 182 00:08:57.919 --> 00:09:00.600 the hard drive to store the data locally and the 183 00:09:00.679 --> 00:09:04.039 router to transmit the data out. And if you step 184 00:09:04.080 --> 00:09:06.440 back and look at the whole trajectory of the Internet, 185 00:09:06.840 --> 00:09:11.559 that dual capability is literally everything. It's the holy grail, right, 186 00:09:11.639 --> 00:09:14.759 because the ultimate goal isn't just to have a solitary 187 00:09:14.840 --> 00:09:18.200 quantum computer sitting in a basement somewhere. It's to build 188 00:09:18.200 --> 00:09:21.000 a quantum Internet. We need a way to store quantum 189 00:09:21.080 --> 00:09:25.200 states and securely beam them across fiber optic networks using light. 190 00:09:25.360 --> 00:09:28.320 And this molecular setup inherently speaks the language of a 191 00:09:28.399 --> 00:09:32.440 quantum network because it natively emits those single photons. 192 00:09:32.600 --> 00:09:35.279 But there is a pretty big environmental factor we have 193 00:09:35.279 --> 00:09:35.879 to address here. 194 00:09:36.200 --> 00:09:36.720 Temperature. 195 00:09:36.840 --> 00:09:38.440 Yeah, because when I was looking at the details of 196 00:09:38.440 --> 00:09:40.759 the milestone, I saw a number that immediately raise a 197 00:09:40.799 --> 00:09:45.159 red flag. They are operating this pinfoton interface at roughly 198 00:09:45.240 --> 00:09:48.200 four point five kelvin, And for context, if you're listening, 199 00:09:48.360 --> 00:09:51.039 four point five kelvin is about minus four hundred and 200 00:09:51.080 --> 00:09:54.159 fifty degrees fahrenheit. It is marginally warmer than the vacuum 201 00:09:54.159 --> 00:09:54.799 of deep space. 202 00:09:54.879 --> 00:09:55.759 It's very cold. 203 00:09:56.080 --> 00:09:59.159 I thought the whole promise of moving away from traditional 204 00:09:59.480 --> 00:10:03.399 quantum ore architectures was that we wouldn't need these massive, 205 00:10:03.480 --> 00:10:05.159 expensive cooling systems anymore. 206 00:10:05.240 --> 00:10:08.879 It does feel a bit contradictory, right, celebrating a revolutionary 207 00:10:08.919 --> 00:10:12.919 new architecture that still requires liquid helium to function. And 208 00:10:13.000 --> 00:10:15.960 it's a completely fair critique of the current demonstration. 209 00:10:16.240 --> 00:10:20.240 So to get those pristine hour long stability measurements, they 210 00:10:20.279 --> 00:10:23.240 really had to freeze out almost all residual thermal energy. 211 00:10:23.320 --> 00:10:26.759 They did for this specific experiment. Yes, we are still 212 00:10:26.840 --> 00:10:29.840 chained to the freezer. But, and this is important, we 213 00:10:29.919 --> 00:10:32.799 have to separate the conditions of this initial proof of 214 00:10:32.879 --> 00:10:36.720 concept from the fundamental physics of the material itself. Okay, 215 00:10:36.759 --> 00:10:39.799 how so, well, the roadmap for molecules operates on entirely 216 00:10:39.840 --> 00:10:43.039 different rules than the roadmap for solid state quibits like 217 00:10:43.159 --> 00:10:47.279 superconducting loops or synthetic diamonds. 218 00:10:47.360 --> 00:10:49.399 Right, Because a diamond is just a rigid rock. You 219 00:10:49.399 --> 00:10:52.919 can't exactly negotiate with its thermal properties exactly. 220 00:10:53.240 --> 00:10:56.559 Take nitrogen vacancy centers in diamonds, which have been a 221 00:10:56.600 --> 00:11:00.679 really popular candidate for solid state quantum tech are locked 222 00:11:00.679 --> 00:11:04.240 into this highly rigid crystal lattice. If you want to 223 00:11:04.360 --> 00:11:07.639 change how that diamond reacts to heat, your options are 224 00:11:07.639 --> 00:11:09.240 incredibly limited. 225 00:11:09.120 --> 00:11:12.240 Because you can't alter the diamond structure without literally destroying 226 00:11:12.240 --> 00:11:12.720 the diamond. 227 00:11:13.440 --> 00:11:16.840 But molecules offer a scientifically viable pathway to operating at 228 00:11:16.879 --> 00:11:20.080 much milder conditions, potentially even room temperature. 229 00:11:20.360 --> 00:11:24.120 Wait, really, how is that possible if heat destroys quantum spin. 230 00:11:24.320 --> 00:11:27.320 Because you can chemically engineer the molecule to isolate its 231 00:11:27.320 --> 00:11:30.960 own electrons, you can build insulating layers directly into the 232 00:11:30.960 --> 00:11:35.120 molecular structure. It basically creates a chemical buffer zone around 233 00:11:35.159 --> 00:11:36.840 the sensitive carbione center. 234 00:11:36.720 --> 00:11:39.879 Which naturally leads to the biggest question here, the core 235 00:11:39.960 --> 00:11:43.159 philosophical difference in how we build things. We're talking about 236 00:11:43.240 --> 00:11:45.679 major tech companies that have spent well over a decade 237 00:11:46.200 --> 00:11:49.440 and billions of dollars building superconducting circuits. 238 00:11:49.480 --> 00:11:53.240 Oh yeah, entire supply chains are built around silicon fabrication, So. 239 00:11:53.240 --> 00:11:55.120 Why would they ever pivot to molecules. 240 00:11:55.320 --> 00:11:57.679 It all comes down to the difference between a top 241 00:11:57.720 --> 00:12:00.240 down approach and a bottom up approach to manifact. 242 00:12:00.559 --> 00:12:05.480 Let's introduce a new analogy for everyone listening current quantum hardware. 243 00:12:06.240 --> 00:12:09.679 The stuff getting all the funding right now is top down. Right, 244 00:12:10.519 --> 00:12:15.200 imagine you have to create a perfectly smooth microscopic sphere. 245 00:12:15.720 --> 00:12:18.879 The top down approach means taking a giant block of marble, 246 00:12:19.120 --> 00:12:22.159 which in this case is a silicon wafer, and using 247 00:12:22.240 --> 00:12:26.559 complex lithography and etching chemicals to carve away everything that 248 00:12:26.720 --> 00:12:27.320 isn't a sphere. 249 00:12:27.399 --> 00:12:31.000 It's entirely subtractive exactly, it's carving, and it is brutally unforgiving. 250 00:12:31.159 --> 00:12:34.440 If there is a single microscopic flaw in the original 251 00:12:34.720 --> 00:12:38.600 crystal lattice of that silicon, or if your etching process 252 00:12:38.720 --> 00:12:42.360 overshoots by like a fraction of a nanometer, the quibit 253 00:12:42.480 --> 00:12:43.200 is compromised. 254 00:12:43.240 --> 00:12:44.559 It suffers from decoherence. 255 00:12:44.720 --> 00:12:47.279 Right And because it's a solid carved structure, you can't 256 00:12:47.320 --> 00:12:48.679 just go in and patch it easily. 257 00:12:48.799 --> 00:12:51.200 But molecules are bottom up. It isn't carving marble. It's 258 00:12:51.200 --> 00:12:53.559 like building with lego bricks. You start with an empty 259 00:12:53.600 --> 00:12:57.360 table and you chemically snap individual atoms together until you 260 00:12:57.399 --> 00:12:59.440 have built the exact structure you want from scratch. 261 00:12:59.720 --> 00:13:04.840 Yeses, and that mechanism of synthetic chemistry provides a superpower 262 00:13:04.840 --> 00:13:09.240 that solid state physics simply doesn't have, which is infinite 263 00:13:09.480 --> 00:13:11.399 precise tuneability. 264 00:13:11.759 --> 00:13:13.720 Tuneability. Okay, unpacked that for us. 265 00:13:13.799 --> 00:13:16.200 Let's say you build a solid state quibit and test 266 00:13:16.279 --> 00:13:18.720 it and you discover, uh, oh, it isn't holding its 267 00:13:18.759 --> 00:13:21.519 memory long enough because it's too sensitive to magnetic noise 268 00:13:21.519 --> 00:13:21.960 in the room. 269 00:13:22.120 --> 00:13:22.240 Right. 270 00:13:22.600 --> 00:13:25.080 To fix that, you might have to reinvent your entire 271 00:13:25.120 --> 00:13:30.000 manufacturing process, retool your clean rooms, change your etching protocol. 272 00:13:30.120 --> 00:13:34.039 Basically a massive capital expenditure just to tweak the design exactly. 273 00:13:34.159 --> 00:13:36.759 Now, imagine you test a molecular quibit and find the 274 00:13:36.840 --> 00:13:40.840 exact same problem. A synthetic chemist doesn't have to rebuild 275 00:13:40.840 --> 00:13:43.720 a factory. They go back to the lab and literally 276 00:13:43.799 --> 00:13:46.799 swap out an atomic attachment on the molecule itself. 277 00:13:46.840 --> 00:13:48.919 You pop off a blue lego brick and snap on 278 00:13:48.919 --> 00:13:49.440 a green one. 279 00:13:49.519 --> 00:13:54.360 Basically, Yeah, those attachments are called ligends or substituents. If 280 00:13:54.360 --> 00:13:55.919 we look back at the diaryl car being we were 281 00:13:55.919 --> 00:13:59.039 talking about earlier, those arrow rings actually act like physical 282 00:13:59.080 --> 00:14:03.799 bumper guards. Yeah, they provide steric hindrance. It's physical bulk 283 00:14:03.960 --> 00:14:07.320 that blocks other reactive molecules from crashing into the sensitive 284 00:14:07.320 --> 00:14:07.960 carbon center. 285 00:14:08.159 --> 00:14:10.559 Oh wow. So they act as physical armour. 286 00:14:10.360 --> 00:14:12.879 For the data exactly, and you can tune that armor. 287 00:14:13.279 --> 00:14:18.120 If you attach highly electronegative atoms like fluorine to those ligands, 288 00:14:18.480 --> 00:14:22.720 it physically pulls the electron cloud tighter around the molecule. 289 00:14:22.320 --> 00:14:24.879 Which alters how it interacts with external fields. 290 00:14:24.960 --> 00:14:28.240 Right, you can adjust the exact optical wavelengths it responds, 291 00:14:28.279 --> 00:14:31.360 to shift its spin interactions, or tailor it to fit 292 00:14:31.440 --> 00:14:33.480 perfectly inside different host crystals. 293 00:14:33.559 --> 00:14:37.840 That level of atomic customization changes the entire economic model 294 00:14:37.879 --> 00:14:41.639 of quantum hardware, because if you're building traditional quantum chips, 295 00:14:42.039 --> 00:14:45.600 your bottleneck is the clean room. You need billion dollar 296 00:14:45.799 --> 00:14:48.639 ultrasterile facilities just to carve the silicon. 297 00:14:48.919 --> 00:14:52.080 But if you are sympthesizing molecules, the scalability is completely 298 00:14:52.159 --> 00:14:56.039 uncoupled from silicon fabrication. You synthesize them in a liquid solution. 299 00:14:56.240 --> 00:14:59.960 So a standard chemical reactor could just brew trillions of identical, 300 00:15:00.360 --> 00:15:03.080 perfectly formed quibits in a single batch. 301 00:15:03.559 --> 00:15:07.360 Yes, And because they aren't bound to a rigid silicon wafer, 302 00:15:07.559 --> 00:15:10.159 the deployment methods completely open. 303 00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:12.360 Up, meaning you don't have to slot a chip into 304 00:15:12.360 --> 00:15:16.919 a motherboard. You could deposit the quibits as thin films. 305 00:15:17.399 --> 00:15:20.759 You'd literally paint a layer of quantum processors onto a. 306 00:15:20.799 --> 00:15:24.519 Surface exactly using techniques like spin coating, and Vision is 307 00:15:24.559 --> 00:15:28.120 already plotting how to layer these molecular systems directly onto 308 00:15:28.240 --> 00:15:29.639 integrated photonic chips. 309 00:15:29.840 --> 00:15:32.320 That is incredibly dense architecture. Right. 310 00:15:32.679 --> 00:15:36.720 You could construct hybrid devices where a traditional silicon backbone 311 00:15:36.840 --> 00:15:40.159 handles the classical routing and power delivery, while a painted 312 00:15:40.240 --> 00:15:42.519 layer of molecules handles the quantum processing. 313 00:15:42.679 --> 00:15:45.679 That kind of industrial versatility really explains why this is 314 00:15:45.720 --> 00:15:49.679 moving out of academic journals and into commercial boardrooms. I mean, 315 00:15:49.960 --> 00:15:53.559 if you're wondering why a microscopic chemistry experiment actually matters 316 00:15:53.600 --> 00:15:56.399 to you, it matters because the market is placing massive 317 00:15:56.440 --> 00:15:57.039 bets on it. 318 00:15:57.159 --> 00:15:57.320 Oh. 319 00:15:57.360 --> 00:16:02.519 Absolutely alongside this scientific breakthrough, Envision secured fifty five million 320 00:16:02.559 --> 00:16:04.039 dollars in Series B funding. 321 00:16:04.360 --> 00:16:08.600 Fifty five million is a formidable signal. It demonstrates that 322 00:16:08.759 --> 00:16:13.120 institutional investors are looking at the limitations of current superconducting 323 00:16:13.159 --> 00:16:16.600 technology and they're actively funding alternative paradigms, and. 324 00:16:16.600 --> 00:16:19.399 They're using that capital to scale up what they call 325 00:16:19.440 --> 00:16:23.720 their PIQC platform or Pixie. What's so fascinating about their 326 00:16:23.720 --> 00:16:28.080 corporate trajectory is the aggressive pivot. They actually built their 327 00:16:28.120 --> 00:16:30.720 reputation on quantum sensing, right. 328 00:16:30.679 --> 00:16:35.279 Using these skin states to hyperpolarize molecules for advanced MRI imaging. 329 00:16:35.320 --> 00:16:38.639 They're using quantum mechanics to build better medical scanners. And 330 00:16:38.720 --> 00:16:42.080 now they're taking that fifty five million and driving straight 331 00:16:42.080 --> 00:16:45.919 into the hardest problem in technology full glown quantum computing. 332 00:16:46.120 --> 00:16:48.759 And we should be clear transitioning from a highly specialized 333 00:16:48.799 --> 00:16:53.120 sensor to a universal computing platform is a monumental leap 334 00:16:53.159 --> 00:16:55.960 and complexity. We need to ground this in the physical 335 00:16:56.000 --> 00:16:57.159 hurdles that still exists. 336 00:16:57.240 --> 00:17:00.000 Yeah, no one is synthesizing a molecular laptop next week, 337 00:17:00.039 --> 00:17:03.159 definitely not. So let's outline the roadblocks. What is physically 338 00:17:03.200 --> 00:17:06.720 preventing us from snapping a billion of these molecules together 339 00:17:06.720 --> 00:17:07.920 tomorrow and just turning them on. 340 00:17:08.319 --> 00:17:12.640 Well, the universal enemy of all quantum architecture is decoherence. 341 00:17:13.119 --> 00:17:17.119 We establish that the electron spins are like delicate spinning tops. 342 00:17:17.759 --> 00:17:20.960 Decoherence is the process of the environment slowly bleeding the 343 00:17:21.079 --> 00:17:22.839 energy and alignment away. 344 00:17:22.519 --> 00:17:25.799 From those tops, the table getting bumped by stray magnetic fields, 345 00:17:25.799 --> 00:17:29.000 cosmic rays or thermal vibrations exactly now. 346 00:17:29.079 --> 00:17:32.319 The current data reveals that these single carbine molecules can 347 00:17:32.400 --> 00:17:37.319 maintain a coherent quantum state for over two milliseconds. Furthermore, 348 00:17:37.480 --> 00:17:40.200 there's spin relaxation time, which is the time it takes 349 00:17:40.200 --> 00:17:42.759 for the top to completely lose its energy and fall over. 350 00:17:43.200 --> 00:17:45.519 Is in the tens of milliseconds, which. 351 00:17:45.359 --> 00:17:48.200 Sounds incredibly fast to a regular person, but in the 352 00:17:48.200 --> 00:17:52.079 realm of quantum operations, where a single calculation takes nanoseconds, 353 00:17:52.359 --> 00:17:57.240 two milliseconds actually provides a pretty substantial window to execute algorithms. 354 00:17:57.359 --> 00:18:00.599 It is an excellent baseline for a single molecule, but 355 00:18:00.680 --> 00:18:03.640 to build a fault tolerant computer, one that can correct 356 00:18:03.640 --> 00:18:07.400 its own errors faster than they occur, those coherence times 357 00:18:07.480 --> 00:18:12.000 must be extended significantly. However, the true nightmare scenario isn't 358 00:18:12.039 --> 00:18:15.880 managing one quibbit. It's the orchestration of the two quibit. 359 00:18:15.680 --> 00:18:19.400 Gait, meaning getting two isolated molecules to talk to each 360 00:18:19.400 --> 00:18:21.480 other without destroying each other's data. 361 00:18:21.599 --> 00:18:25.319 Yes, consider the physics of a high density molecular chip. 362 00:18:25.839 --> 00:18:29.119 If you pack millions of molecules tightly together so they 363 00:18:29.160 --> 00:18:33.240 can interact quickly, their individual magnetic fields start to interfere, 364 00:18:33.359 --> 00:18:34.279 you get crosstalk. 365 00:18:34.839 --> 00:18:36.720 Oh, so they jam each other's. 366 00:18:36.519 --> 00:18:39.839 Signals, right, But if you space them too far apart 367 00:18:39.920 --> 00:18:43.880 to prevent interference, they can't effectively entangle with each other 368 00:18:44.039 --> 00:18:45.480 to process operations. 369 00:18:45.599 --> 00:18:48.480 So you have a thread and impossible needle maintaining the 370 00:18:48.519 --> 00:18:52.359 ability to target one specific molecule with a laser while 371 00:18:52.400 --> 00:18:55.680 simultaneously forcing it to entangle its skin state with a 372 00:18:55.720 --> 00:18:58.759 neighbor and shielding both of them from the noise of 373 00:18:58.799 --> 00:19:00.960 the millions of other molecule surrounding them. 374 00:19:01.079 --> 00:19:04.440 It is an incredibly delicate balance of proximity and isolation. 375 00:19:04.599 --> 00:19:07.759 But you know, exploring these hurdles reveals an incredible, almost 376 00:19:07.839 --> 00:19:12.599 poetic irony about the entire quantum computing industry. The feedback loop, Yeah, 377 00:19:12.640 --> 00:19:15.079 the virtuous cycle. If you look back over the last 378 00:19:15.079 --> 00:19:17.839 twenty years, one of the ultimate goals of quantum computing, 379 00:19:18.200 --> 00:19:21.279 the main reason governments even wanted to build them, was 380 00:19:21.319 --> 00:19:22.559 to simulate chemistry. 381 00:19:22.880 --> 00:19:26.119 Right, because classical computers simply lack the processing power to 382 00:19:26.200 --> 00:19:29.799 map the quantum states of large molecules. The math scales 383 00:19:29.880 --> 00:19:33.000 exponentially and just chokes traditional processors. 384 00:19:33.039 --> 00:19:36.759 Exactly, we spend decades trying to build artificial quantum computers 385 00:19:37.039 --> 00:19:40.079 out of silicon, lasers and super cooled metal, just so 386 00:19:40.119 --> 00:19:44.119 we could finally simulate complex molecules. And now the molecules 387 00:19:44.160 --> 00:19:47.720 themselves are replacing the silicon. The chemistry we wanted to 388 00:19:47.720 --> 00:19:50.119 simulate has literally become the hardware. 389 00:19:50.279 --> 00:19:54.440 It initiates a feedback loop of pure technological acceleration. The 390 00:19:54.480 --> 00:19:58.480 better our current generation of computers gets at modeling molecular behavior, 391 00:19:58.799 --> 00:20:02.920 the better we become at designed optimal molecular quibits. Oh wow, Yeah, 392 00:20:03.000 --> 00:20:05.920 we can simulate a carbine with the perfect ligen detachments 393 00:20:05.920 --> 00:20:08.720 in a computer before we ever synthesize it in a lab. 394 00:20:09.240 --> 00:20:12.920 So synthesize that perfect molecule becomes more powerful quantum computer, 395 00:20:13.200 --> 00:20:16.599 which in turn simulates an even more robust molecular architecture. 396 00:20:16.640 --> 00:20:19.640 Exactly. We are using the physics to solve the chemistry 397 00:20:19.759 --> 00:20:20.920 to build better physics. 398 00:20:21.079 --> 00:20:24.160 That is amazing. Yeah, and looking ahead toward twenty thirty, 399 00:20:24.440 --> 00:20:27.519 this clearly signals the end of a monolithic approach to hardware. 400 00:20:27.920 --> 00:20:30.640 The narrative that there will be one single winner in 401 00:20:30.680 --> 00:20:34.480