Why is the government betting big on a technology that promises much, but has so far delivered little?
为什么英国政府在一项承诺很多，但迄今收效甚微的技术上押下重金？
Amid the hum of cooling fans and squelch of vacuum pumps, a new home for 12 quantum computers has opened in Oxfordshire, as part of a bid to put the UK ahead in a global race to harness the technology.
在冷却风扇的嗡嗡声和真空泵的吱吱声中，位于牛津郡的一处新址正式启用，这里将成为12台量子计算机的新家，旨在助力英国在全球量子技术竞赛中占据领先地位。
Quantum computers promise to solve problems too hard for even the most powerful supercomputers - like those requiring vast numbers of parallel computations like complex weather simulations, the binding of drugs to their targets, or the vagaries of financial markets.
量子计算机有望解决那些即便是最强大的超级计算机也难以攻克的难题——比如需要进行大量并行计算的复杂天气模拟、药物与其靶点结合的过程，或是金融市场的变幻莫测。
While prototypes have proven that the weird world of quantum matter can be used to perform calculations - none are yet large or stable enough to be of much use. "With its focus on making quantum computers practically useable at scale, this centre will help them solve some of the biggest challenges we face," said science minister Lord Vallance.
尽管原型机已证明，神秘的量子物质世界可用于进行计算，但目前还没有任何一台原型机足够大或足够稳定，以发挥太大的作用。科学大臣瓦兰斯勋爵表示：“该中心专注于实现量子计算机的大规模实际应用，将助力解决我们面临的一些最大挑战。”
Quantum computers exploit the strangeness of quantum physics to replace the "bits" - zeros and ones - that encode information in classical computers with something fundamentally different. If manipulated in the right way, matter can be coaxed into quantum bits - or qubits - that can be both a zero and a one at the same time.
量子计算机利用量子物理的奇特性，用本质上完全不同的东西取代了传统计算机中用于编码信息的“比特”（0和1）。如果操作得当，物质可以被诱导成量子比特（qubit），即可以同时为0和1的比特。
This power, and the fact qubits can become "entangled," or interact with each other means a relatively small number of qubits can perform more calculations in parallel than a classical computer chip ever could.
这种能力以及量子比特可以“纠缠” 或相互作用的特性，意味着数量相对较少的量子比特可以比传统计算机芯片并行执行更多的计算。
However, even the slightest interference from the outside world can destroy a fragile qubit, so building groups of them large enough that last long enough to make a reliable computer is a major challenge.
然而，外界的任何轻微干扰都可能破坏脆弱的量子比特，因此，构建足够大且能持久运行以构成可靠计算机的量子比特群是一项重大挑战。
The new National Quantum Computing Centre at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Harwell is designed to accelerate that research. The 4,000-square-metre facility is designed to host multiple competing designs of quantum computer and around a hundred scientists working on them. Some commercial, others developed by university teams - to try to solve hardware and software problems in parallel.
位于哈威尔的卢瑟福·阿普尔顿实验室的新国家量子计算中心旨在加速这一研究。该中心占地4000平方米，旨在容纳多种相互竞争的量子计算机设计，并供大约100名科学家开展研究。这些量子计算机有的用于商业用途，有的由大学团队开发——旨在并行解决硬件和软件问题。
"The UK National Quantum Computing Centre is central to this critical work, bringing together internationally leading researchers and technologists from across academia and industry to ensure that the UK's quantum computing ecosystem thrives," said Prof Dame Ottoline Leyser, chief executive of UK Research and Innovation that is funding the centre.
英国研究与创新机构首席执行官奥托琳·莱泽教授表示：“英国国家量子计算中心对这项关键工作至关重要，它将学术界和工业界的国际领先研究人员和技术人员聚集在一起，确保英国量子计算生态系统蓬勃发展。”
苏格拉底有一句名言：我知我无知。说的是，当你认识到的东西越多就越发现自己无知。苏格拉底认为，人对于客观世界的认识是有限的，且不可能完全认识客观世界，并且不应对客观世界刨根究底。神对于世界的规划自有安排，若人一意孤行地探索世界和自然的奥秘，则最终将亵渎甚至触怒神明。正因为人对神所构建的世界不可能实现完全认知，因此那些宣称自己能够认识和改造世界的人，本身便是无知的代言。尽管苏格拉底的关于“ 我知我无知”的观念的解读，在现在看来有失客观科学。但至少苏格拉底告诫人们，人的认知是有限的，现有的知识甚至可能存在错误和疏漏。因此，无论任何时代，我们都必须对自己的无知加以认识并通过不懈的开拓，去更新甚至颠覆固有的知识结构。我们在求学之路上也要报以我知我不知的心态，才能走得更远、终有所成。最后，祝愿每一位考研学子都能顺利上岸！
