Special report: laboratory research - Making the quantum leap

With quantum computing, we're potentially at the threshold of a revolution in information processing every bit as big as that initiated by the invention of the transistor. If we can develop a quantum computer, we'll be able to do calculations that would be impossible using all the conventional computers in the world working together. True, there are formidable problems, but we have to believe they can be overcome. Do quantum mechanical effects pose a fundamental threat to continued progress in microelectronics? Key world laboratories say 'no'.