Is quantum computing having its moment?
BBC Inside Science
BBC
4.6 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 19 March 2026
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In a bid to invest in the future of computing and keep emerging quantum companies on their shores, the UK government has announced a £2 billion ‘Quantum Leap’ fund. Tom Whipple heads to ORCA Computing in London to find out exactly how close we are to realising that quantum future and the industries that may be revolutionized in the process. After Iranian missiles have hit a key helium production plant in Qatar, stability of the global supplies of the element have been called into question. Dr Rebecca Ingle from University College London clues us in on just how much of the world relies on Helium and why it is the irreplicable “cryogenic king” of the elements. Plus, can potatoes grow on the moon? And what can pythons tell us about weight loss? Reporter Gareth Mitchell joins Tom for their pick of this week's science news.
Presenter: Tom Whipple Producer: Alex Mansfield and Katie Tomsett Production co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth Editor: Martin Smith
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts. |
| 0:07.0 | An early start here. It's time to kick off. |
| 0:10.0 | Your day. Morning! |
| 0:11.9 | What a line-up. |
| 0:13.3 | Oh, thanks very much. We do get some great guests on the show. |
| 0:16.1 | The crowd is loving this. |
| 0:18.3 | Thanks, guys. Thank you. Too kind. |
| 0:20.2 | From morning chaos to match day commentary. |
| 0:23.6 | And everything in between. |
| 0:25.0 | BBC sounds packed with personality. |
| 0:30.4 | Hello, I'm Tom Whipple and welcome to Inside Science from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:36.4 | And this week I'm not in the studio. I'm in West London. |
| 0:40.1 | I am actually beside Paddington Station. To my right is the station concourse, a monument to the |
| 0:47.0 | finest technology of the 19th century. To my left in the basement is what could be the finest |
| 0:52.8 | technology of the 21st. It is a quantum |
| 0:55.8 | computer. It's a type of computer that promises to do all sorts of things, from drug |
| 1:00.9 | discovery to breaking encryption on the internet. Quantum computers can't quite do those things yet, |
| 1:07.5 | but when or if they can, the government thinks they could revolutionise |
| 1:11.6 | the economy. This week, the UK pledged £2 billion of funding to develop the tech. |
| 1:17.7 | Will it be a good investment? A confession. Before we visit it, in covering science, I've been |
| 1:23.2 | visiting quantum computers that are on the cusp of doing interesting things for 20 years. |
| 1:29.0 | They still can't really do much of use, yet the cuspiness of their interestingness does indeed |
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