4 tough chemistry problems that quantum computers will solve [News]

Someday, engineers will design large quantum computers that can solve seemingly impossible science problems, crack unbreakable encryption, and make artificial intelligence smarter. In the meantime, the companies now building quantum computers are trying to figure out how to use the small ones they expect to produce in the coming years. One field in which the first generation of quantum computers may be able to make headway is chemistry. Theoretical work suggests that such computers—perhaps even relatively small ones—will eventually be able to solve important problems in chemistry that are intractable on existing computers.