Quantum computing has been bullshit promises for 20 years, but this W state thing from Kyoto actually doesn't sound like total garbage. They claim they can measure three-way quantum entanglements without it crapping out 75% of the time. Big if true.
What Are W States Actually
W states are three particles tangled up together. The weird part is you can lose one particle and the other two stay connected. Regular quantum entanglement dies completely when anything goes wrong - like everything else in quantum.
Nobody could make these work before. You'd build your experiment, pray to whatever deity handles quantum mechanics, and maybe get it working 25% of the time. That's not engineering, that's expensive gambling. Kyoto claims they hit much higher success rates. I'll believe it when three other labs reproduce it.
Quantum Internet is Still Broken
Current quantum communication breaks if you look at it wrong. Lose one photon and your entire \"unhackable\" message turns to garbage. W states supposedly give you backup routes - when one quantum channel dies, others keep working.
IBM has been promising quantum internet for years but the range is shit. A few hundred kilometers on a good day with perfect conditions and a lab full of PhD babysitters. W states working might fix long-distance quantum communication. Might.
The Only Part That Matters
This isn't about quantum computers replacing AWS. It's quantum sensors for drug discovery. Big Pharma burns billions trying to figure out how molecules stick together, mostly by throwing chemistry at the wall and seeing what sticks.
Network quantum sensors with W states and you can measure molecular binding with the precision pharmaceutical companies actually need. That's real money, not just Nature papers and grant applications.
Reality Check Time
Don't quit your day job for a quantum startup. This still needs more cooling than a data center and laser setups that cost more than a house. Kyoto figured out the measurement part - making it work outside a university lab is a completely different nightmare.
Every quantum company says their breakthrough works with "existing infrastructure" until you try building it and discover you need a team of physicists, a clean room that costs $50M, and cooling systems that make TSMC fabs look simple.
Japan is Behind
China built a working quantum network. The US owns all the quantum hardware companies. Japan is throwing money at catch-up research, but they're years behind and desperate.
Kyoto claims they'll demo W state teleportation over fiber by 2026. That's the same optimistic bullshit timeline every quantum lab gives, but at least this time the underlying physics isn't complete fantasy.