Cold numbers: Superconducting supercomputers and presumptive anomaly

Nicola De Liso, Giovanni Filatrella, Dimitri Gagliardi and Claudia Napoli

Industrial and Corporate Change, 2020, vol. 29, issue 2, 485-505

Abstract: In February 2014 Time magazine announced to the world that the first quantum computer had been put in use. One key component of this computer is the “Josephson-junction,” a superconducting device, based on completely different scientific and technological principles with respect to semiconductors. The origin of superconductors dates back to the 1960s, to a large-scale 20-year long IBM project aimed at building ultrafast computers. We present a detailed study of the relationship between Science and Technology making use of the theoretical tools of presumptive anomaly and technological paradigms: superconductors were developed while the semiconductors revolution was in full swing. We adopt a historiographical approach—using a snowballing technique to sift through the relevant literature from various epistemological domains and technical publications—to extract theoretically robust insights from a narrative which concerns great scientific advancements, technological leaps forward and business-driven innovation. The study we present shows how technological advancements, business dynamics, and policy intertwine.

JEL-codes: L63 O32 O33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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