Majorana 1

Majorana 1: Recently, Microsoft announced a new quantum computing chip called Majorana 1, claiming it could enable industrial-scale quantum computing within years, not decades.

• About: Majorana 1 is a quantum chip leveraging a "topoconductor" (topological superconductor) to create stable, scalable qubits based on Majorana particles, aiming for a future of practical, fault-tolerant quantum computing.

o Named Majorana 1 because it consists of Majorana particles, a unique type of subatomic particle.

o Majorana particles are their own anti-particles, unlike other fermions where particles and anti-particles are distinct (e.g., electron vs. positron).

o If two Majorana particles meet, they annihilate each other in a flash of energy.

o A major open question in physics is whether neutrinos are also Majorana particles.

• About Neutrinos – Abundance and Importance: Second-most abundant subatomic particles after photons, produced in the Big Bang, radioactive decay, supernovae, and nuclear fusion (e.g., Sun emits 60 billion neutrinos per cm² per second).
• About Beta Decay – Understanding the Process: Atoms with excess energy undergo beta decay to become more stable. Two types of beta decay:

o Neutron → Proton: Emits electron and anti-neutrino.

o Proton → Neutron: Emits positron and neutrino.

o A third type, double beta decay, occurs when two neutrons simultaneously convert to two protons, emitting two electrons and two anti-neutrinos.