ROME, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- Scientists from northern Italian University of Trento confirmed on Tuesday that they have taken a major step forward in the development of super-fast quantum computers.

Quantum computers rely on the properties of sub-atomic particles to relay information and perform calculations using units of information called "qubits."

Unlike bits used in conventional computing, which can only represent one of two possible values, qubits can represent up to four, allowing for vastly reduced computing time.

The electrons used to convey information in quantum computing travel inside particles called quantum bits which, however, are easily scrambled by outside interference.

Professor Iacopo Carusotto, a physicist with the Bec-Infm center who also teaches at the University of Trento, said the solution to quantum bit interference is to polarize them so that they spin in the same direction.

Carusotto compared the technique to eliminating obnoxious background noise that prevented a person from concentrating.

"It's a bit like giving a regular, constant rhythm to a pair of maracas that were shaking out of control. This way, the 'noise' becomes acceptable for the electrons, which don't get confused and can work more efficiently."

The technique was developed by researchers at the Bec-Infm Research and Development Center, a physics laboratory at the University of Trento, working together with an international team of physicists from around the world.

Their findings were published in the Aug. 16 issue of Nature Physics, a leading scientific journal focusing on applied physics.