alt Hacker NewsThese are all just models of the cryostats and classical computer interfaces used to cool and read out from the quantum computing devices. These are not the quantum computing devices themselves.
(Before anyone starts. Yes, the read out is essential, but room temperature devices are coming to the forefront now so no the cryostat is not a compulsory part of the QC setup.)
I saw a tour take place at my facility whereby a man pointed at an empty cryostat and said "Wow, a quantum computer". None of us had the heart to tell him otherwise.
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The cryostat is the most visually impressive part, to be fair.
That's the cool chandelier looking thing, for anyone reading. It's a multi-stage cooler and the actual computer mounts to the bottom. I think the reason it's upside-down is that the liquid phase of the refrigerant medium is the cold part, and gravity holds it where it needs to be. They could probably engineer one that works in any orientation but there's no reason to.
As somebody involved in the design of quantum computers (specifically, the architecture of the circuitry on the microchip), you're technically correct. But you're also so wrong. The best lego model of a microchip is the piece #4211415.
The cryostat is the cool part (pun intended) that people want to build models of.