In October 2019, Google claimed quantum supremacy (a point where quantum computers can perform any task that can’t be performed by classical computers) when its quantum computer ‘Sycamore’ performed a complex calculation in 200 seconds. The company claimed that it would take nearly 10,000 years for the world’s fastest supercomputer to perform the same calculation.
Computer scientists have seen quantum supremacy — the moment when a quantum computer could perform an action a conventional computer couldn’t — as an elusive, important milestone for their field. There are many research groups working on quantum computers and applications, but it appears Google has beaten its rivals to this milestone.
According to John Preskill, the Caltech particle physicist who coined the term “quantum supremacy,” Google’s quantum computer “is something new in the exploration of nature. These systems are doing things that are unprecedented.”
It sounds all very gee-whiz. And some scientists think these computers will one day lead to discoveries of new drugs and possibly whole new fields of chemistry. Others fear they’ll be used one day to crack the toughest security protocols.
Picture Credit : Google