New Device Opens Door to Storing Quantum Information as Sound Waves

Quantum computing, just like traditional computing, needs a way to store the information it uses and processes. On the computer you’re using right now, information, whether it be photos of your dog, a reminder about a friend’s birthday, or the words you’re typing into your browser’s address bar, has to be stored somewhere. Quantum computing, being a new field, is still working out where and how to store quantum information.

Scientists at Caltech have developed a new method for storing quantum information using sound waves. By leveraging phonons, the sound equivalent of photons, they have created a small device capable of efficiently translating electrical quantum states into sound and vice versa, enabling the storage and retrieval of quantum information.