US push to build powerful quantum computer

US President Donald Trump is ordering a push to build a powerful

quantum computer for scientific research and speed efforts to protect government

systems from related cyber threats, bolstering US efforts in

its race with China for a technology that could upend science and cybersecurity.

In the Oval Office Monday US President Donald Trump

signs an order calling for developing

by 2028 the first ever quantum computer powerful enough

for scientific research.

US President Donald Trump said

"Quantum technologies represents the next generation of innovation

across computing, sensing and networking

with enormous significance for our country's economic growth,

scientific research and cyber security.

It's really a big deal that we're doing today."

The second order seeks to bolster the nation's cybersecurity,

anticipating a time when such powerful computers will be able

to break the best encryption.

Sean Cairncross US National Cyber Director said

"As quantum (computing) rolls forward,

it will challenge public key cryptography, which is what secures everything.

It secures our financial transactions, our civilian critical infrastructure,

and it secures the digital systems that Americans rely on for their daily life.

And these two executive orders,

which pair innovation and security, will address those issues."

The second order I'm signing directs federal agencies to transition

to what is called quantum cryptography. Do you, anybody know what that is?

You're going to hear very soon.

So you're going to find it interesting. Cryptography.

Chris Wright, Secretary of Energy

Yes. Thank you, Mr. President. So 102, 120 - 141 years ago,

Albert Einstein, 121 years ago, Albert Einstein published a paper.

(Trump)

Nobody cares.

Good point, good point.

On the photoelectric effect. Recognising the quantum behaviour of light

that it came in quanta. Fourty years after that,

President Trump's uncle, John Trump,

was a pioneer in applying light radiation and the reflections

of it to develop radar at the MIT Radiation lab.

Trump's directives mark the latest attempts to tap into the strange behaviour

of subatomic particles to build machines that could perform

calculations at far higher speeds than conventional supercomputers.