Google Claims a Quantum Breakthrough That Could Change Computing

Google’s quantum computer. The company said in a paper published on Wednesday that the machine needed only a few minutes to perform a task that would take a supercomputer at least 10,000 years.Credit...Google

By Cade Metz, The New York Times, 10/23/19

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Google said on Wednesday that it had achieved a long-sought breakthrough called “quantum supremacy,” which could allow new kinds of computers to do calculations at speeds that are inconceivable with today’s technology.

The Silicon Valley giant’s research lab in Santa Barbara, Calif., reached a milestone that scientists had been working toward since the 1980s: Its quantum computer performed a task that isn’t possible with traditional computers, according to a paper published in the science journal Nature.

A quantum machine could one day drive big advances in areas like artificial intelligence and make even the most powerful supercomputers look like toys. The Google device did in 3 minutes 20 seconds a mathematical calculation that supercomputers could not complete in under 10,000 years, the company said in its paper.

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The quantum machine operates in a completely different manner from regular computers.Credit...Google

From The New York Times, 10/23/19