Sydney, May 11: A team of Australian scientists has made great strides towards building the world's first quantum computer, using mostly standard silicon technology. The team is led by 50-year-old Michelle Simmons, a mother of three.

It is believed that the quantum computing technology could help address major global challenges like climate change and understanding complex diseases such as cancer. 

"We're hoping to actually build computers here in Australia that will be able to do calculations in real time that would otherwise take thousands of years," Simmons, Professor at University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney, said in statement. 

The winner of the coveted 2018 Australian of the Year award leads a team of more than 200 researchers at eight universities across the country developing a cache of quantum computing technologies. 

In the quantum world, every time a quantum bit (qubit) is added, the amount of information is doubled.

"If I can get to 300 qubits, there's a prediction that it's more than all the atoms in the universe working together as a calculation," Simmons said, adding that her team is the only one in the world that can manipulate individual atoms to make atomically precise electronic devices.

The progress made by the UNSW research programme has been possible to a great extent due to its focus on silicon, which is industrially-compatible and forms the basis for the existing computer and electronics industry.

The team focuses on making qubits out of single atoms of phosphorus or quantum dots in silicon. 

In 2017, the British-born Simmons established Australia's first quantum computing company, Silicon Quantum Computing (SQC), to develop, by 2022, a 10-qubit prototype silicon quantum integrated circuit -- the first step in building the world's first quantum computer in silicon.

The company is owned by the Australian Government, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), Australian telecommunication Telstra, the UNSW and the New South Wales State Government. 

"To be able to create technology that can be useful for humanity, to be able to create technology that can solve diseases, optimise weather patterns -- have all the implications to make the world a better place and understand the world -- is what drives me," said Simmons, who is also Director of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computation & Communication Technology (CQC2T).

In a statement released by UNSW in March, Simmons, said her team's work is inspired by the late American physicist Richard Feynman, whose birth centenary is on Friday.

Feynman is known for his path-breaking contribution to quantum theory -- especially its electrodynamics, which won him the Nobel Prize.

"Feynman said: 'What I cannot create, I do not understand'. We are enacting that strategy systematically, from the ground up, atom by atom," Simmons said.

"In placing our phosphorus atoms in the silicon to make a qubit, we have demonstrated that we can use a scanning probe to directly measure the atom's wave function, which tells us its exact physical location in the chip. We are the only group in the world who can actually see where our qubits are.

"Our competitive advantage is that we can put our high-quality qubit where we want it in the chip, see what we've made, and then measure how it behaves. We can add another qubit nearby and see how the two wave functions interact. And then we can start to generate replicas of the devices we have created," she said.

The team's latest advance - the first observation of controllable interactions between two qubits - was published in the journal Nature Communications.

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London, Nov 22: A bomb disposal squad deployed as a “precaution” to the South Terminal of Gatwick Airport concluded an investigation into a "security incident" on Friday after making a “suspect package” safe.

The South Terminal of Gatwick Airport, the UK's second busiest airport after Heathrow, which was briefly shut owing to the incident reopened following the incident.

The Gatwick is around 45 km south of London.

Two people detained during the enquiries have since been allowed to continue their journey as the airport was opened.

“Police have concluded their investigation into a report of a suspect package at Gatwick Airport. Officers from the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team made the package safe, and the airport has been handed back to its operator,” Sussex Police said in an updated statement.

“Two people detained while enquiries were ongoing have subsequently been allowed to continue their journeys. There will remain an increased police presence in the area to assist with passengers accessing the South Terminal for onward travel,” the statement added.

Earlier on Friday, the incident caused severe disruption at the busy airport’s South Terminal, while the North Terminal of Gatwick Airport remained unaffected.

“Police were called to the South Terminal at Gatwick Airport at 8.20 am on Friday (November 22) following the discovery of a suspected prohibited item in luggage,” a Sussex Police statement said.

“To ensure the safety of the public, staff and other airport users, a security cordon has been put in place whilst the matter is dealt with. As a precaution, an EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team is being deployed to the airport. This is causing significant disruption and some roads around the South Terminal have been closed. We’d advise the public to avoid the area where possible,” it said.

Footage on social media taken outside the airport showed crowds of frustrated travellers being moved away from the terminal building.

Gatwick said it was working hard to resolve the issue.

“A large part of the South Terminal has been evacuated as a precaution while we continue to investigate a security incident," the airport said in a social media post.

“Passengers will not be able to enter the South Terminal while this is ongoing. The safety and security of our passengers and staff remain our top priority. We are working hard to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.”

Train and bus services that serve the airport were also impacted while the police carried out their inquiries.

In an unrelated incident in south London on Friday morning, the US Embassy area in Nine Elms by the River Thames was the scene of a controlled explosion by Scotland Yard dealing with what they believe may have been a “hoax device”.

“We can confirm the 'loud bang' reported in the area a short time ago was a controlled explosion carried out by officers,” the Metropolitan Police said in a post on X.

“Initial indications are that the item was a hoax device. An investigation will now follow. Some cordons will remain in place for the time being but the majority of the police response will now be stood down,” it added.