Werner von Braun oversaw development of some awfully small crummy rockets https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ii7uwp1SRIM (imagine the ones even before these!) but also oversaw the Saturn 5 which lifted every person who walked on the moon. We understand the physics, now it's a matter of engineering and funding!
Not necessarily. What if entangling each quabit is twice as hard as the previous one? There's a lot of people that suspect physics may prevent quantum computing from scaling up. See also:
But the guy who made that bet doesn't think physics prevents a quantum computer. "Many people assumed I was a QC skeptic, and was offering the prize because I hoped to spur research aimed at disproving QC. Which is actually an interesting misreading" http://www.scottaaronson.com/blog/?p=902
Yeah I was just pointing out that there is disagreement. I think of it like time travel - nobody has proved that it is impossible, but a lot of people suspect that a "sensible" universe wouldn't allow it.
the rate of progress seems in fact astoundingly slow. if gene sequencing is outstripping moore's law, quantum computing is underperforming it by a mile. this quantum computer did the same 3 x 5 = 15 factorization that was done ~15 years ago. and has added just one special q-bit over its predecessors. albeit this is a more "fair" factorization technique than the early experiments, which have been likened to loaded dice.
Well, "we" (I didn't I wasn't there) understand the physics since the 1920s.
Except that a whole lot of basic research into stuff like viable rocket fuels etc simply didn't exist yet that early.
A better analogy would be that it's the same way that building a glider got us closer to an A380.
Breaking news! RSA was cracked today by a quantum computer. Turns out {3, 5} were actually universal factors.
Ahh man, I needed this laugh. Thank you.
I dont even know if your comment is accurate Yver but I'm upvoting it anyway but it's awesome.