Google researchers claimed that their quantum processor, named Sycamore, had performed a calculation in just 200 seconds that would have taken the world’s most powerful supercomputer 10,000 years to complete.
This breakthrough has important implications for fields like cryptography, drug discovery, and climate modeling, and marks the beginning of a new era in computing.
Key Points:
- Quantum supremacy refers to the ability of a quantum computer to perform a calculation that is beyond the capabilities of classical computers.
- Google’s Sycamore processor, which contains 53 qubits, achieved quantum supremacy by performing a random quantum circuit simulation.
- The calculation took just 200 seconds, while the researchers estimated that the world’s most powerful supercomputer, Summit, would have taken 10,000 years to complete it.
- The achievement has important implications for cryptography, as quantum computers are able to crack many of the encryption methods that currently protect our data.
- It could also accelerate the development of new drugs and materials, and enable more accurate climate modeling, among other applications.
Personal Insights:
- Kind of the one topic that scares me a bit
- Feel like it’s almost of nation-state level importance
- Whoever gets this first… I doubt it’s all about helping mankind
- I think it’s first and primary use will to be to break all prior encryption
- and that puts at risk every financial and governmental system in the world
- so… please be careful…
Article Highlights:
- This morning, Google scientists confirmed in a blog post that their quantum computer had needed just 200 seconds to solve a problem that they claim would take the world’s fastest supercomputer 10,000 years to complete.
Source Article:
