Scientists have built a quantum computer in a diamond, the first of its kind to include protection against “decoherence” — noise that prevents the computer from functioning properly.

The demonstration shows the viability of solid-state quantum computers, which – unlike earlier gas- and liquid-state systems – may represent the future of quantum computing because they can be easily scaled up in size. Current quantum computers are typically very small and – though impressive – cannot yet compete with the speed of larger, traditional computers. The team’s diamond quantum computer system featured two quantum bits (called “qubits”), made of subatomic particles.