Quantum computing is a bit like the strange laws of physics it relies on: scary enough to give national-security wonks nightmares, yet still sufficiently puny for sceptics to dismiss.(量子计算有点像它所依赖的奇特物理定律：足以让国家安全专家做噩梦，却又仍然弱小到让怀疑论者不屑一顾。) Perhaps no country wants it to work more than Britain. Three of the world’s top five quantum clusters are on its soil(在其国土上), reckons the European Centre for International Political Economy, a think-tank. On November 6th at a showcase in London, Sir Peter Knight(量子技术先驱), a pioneer in quantum technology, reiterated(重申) a goal to make a quantum computer that can outperform supercomputers in Britain by 2035. Yet even now other quantum technologies are proving their worth.
量子计算有点像它所依赖的奇特物理定律：足以让国家安全专家做噩梦，却又仍然弱小到让怀疑论者不屑一顾。也许没有哪个国家比英国更希望它成功。智库欧洲国际政治经济中心认为，全球排名前五的量子集群中有三个位于英国。11月6日，在伦敦的一场展示活动上，量子技术先驱彼得·奈特爵士重申了一个目标：到2035年，在英国制造出一台性能超越超级计算机的量子计算机。然而，即便是现在，其他量子技术也正在证明自己的价值。
Mostly this is down to(归因于) quantum sensing, which exploits(利用) the sensitivity of quantum systems to faint changes around them. Use cases in medicine have abounded(大量存在) for decades (MRI scanners, for instance); now they are multiplying. A spinout from the University of Nottingham, Cerca Magnetics, makes brain-scanning helmets fitted with quantum sensors that can detect subtle magnetic fields.(诺丁汉大学的分拆公司Cerca Magnetics制造脑部扫描头盔，配备的量子传感器能探测微弱的磁场。) It has made an operating profit in each of the past five years. Others are experimenting with diagnostic tools for breast cancer, and finger-prick(指尖采血) tests for diseases such as HIV.
这主要归功于量子传感，它利用量子系统对周围微弱变化的敏感性。医学领域的应用案例几十年来层出不穷（例如核磁共振扫描仪）；如今更是成倍增加。诺丁汉大学的分拆公司Cerca Magnetics制造脑部扫描头盔，配备的量子传感器能探测微弱的磁场。过去五年，该公司每年都实现营业利润。其他公司正在试验乳腺癌诊断工具，以及针对HIV等疾病的指尖采血检测。
Another application for sensing is positioning, navigation and timing(授时) (PNT). Knowing where you are, where you are going and what time it is has always been useful for soldiers.(知道自己在哪、要去哪以及现在几点，对士兵来说一直很有用。) The war in Ukraine, meanwhile, has shown how easy it is to jam(干扰) satellite systems such as GPS(全球定位系统). So the Royal Navy has been trialling(试用) quantum navigation with compact atomic clocks, which do not depend on signals from space.
传感的另一项应用是定位、导航与授时（PNT）。知道自己在哪、要去哪以及现在几点，对士兵来说一直很有用。与此同时，乌克兰战争表明，干扰GPS等卫星系统是多么容易。因此，英国皇家海军一直在试用搭载紧凑型原子钟的量子导航，这种导航不依赖太空信号。