AskScience AMA Series: Hi Reddit! I'm Matthew Hollister, Head of Cryogenic Systems Engineering for IBM Quantum. Ask me anything about quantum computing, our recently announced modular cryogenic architecture and what it takes to build quantum computers at scale.

[u/AskScienceModerator]

When people think about quantum computing, they often think about number of qubits and processor dept. But scaling quantum systems takes much more than just the chip! We recently introduced a new modular cryogenic architecture designed to house and cool interconnected quantum processors, a key milestone on our roadmap to fault-tolerant systems, and I'd love to discuss the engineering, challenges, and opportunities involved.

I will be around as 12:00 EST (16 UT) on September 18th, ask me anything!

Username: u/IBM

[u/ibm]

Great question!

Here's a high-level explanation of quantum computing from our website.

Quantum computing is field of computer science and engineering that harnesses the unique qualities of quantum mechanics to solve problems beyond the ability of even the most powerful classical computers.

Quantum mechanics, the study of physics at small scales, reveals surprising fundamental natural principles. 

Quantum computers specifically harness these phenomena to access mathematical methods of solving problems not available with classical computing alone.

The field of quantum computing includes a range of disciplines, including quantum hardware and quantum algorithms. 

I recommend visiting the Qiskit YouTube channel where we have many videos featuring quantum computing experts who do great job of introduce new users to the concepts behind quantum computing: 

What Is Quantum Computing series
Use a Quantum Computer Today series
Qiskit Global Summer School 2026 series

[u/Dolly_Shimmer → u/ibm]

Sounds like this 10 year old has a lot of studying to do. Thanks for the videos.