Google touts quantum computing milestone
SAN FRANCISCO — Google said it has achieved a breakthrough in quantum computing research, saying an experimental quantum processor has completed a calculation in just a few minutes that would take a traditional supercomputer thousands of years.
The findings, published Wednesday in the scientific journal Nature, show that “quantum speedup is achievable in a real-world system and is not precluded by any hidden physical laws,” the researchers wrote.
Quantum computing is a nascent and bewildering technology for sped-up information processing.
Quantum computers are a long way from a practical application but might one day revolutionize tasks that would take existing computers years, including the hunt for new drugs and optimizing city and transportation planning.
The technique relies on quantum bits, or qubits, which can register data values of zero and one — the language of modern computing — simultaneously. Big tech companies including Google, Microsoft, IBM and Intel are avidly pursuing the technology.
Google’s findings, however, are already facing pushback from other industry researchers.
A version of Google’s paper leaked online last month and researchers caught a glimpse before it was taken down.
IBM took issue with Google’s claim that it had achieved “quantum supremacy,” a term that refers to a point when a quantum computer can perform a calculation that a traditional computer can’t complete within its lifetime.
Google’s paper shows that its quantum processor, Sycamore, finished a calculation in three minutes and 20 seconds — and it would take the world’s fastest supercomputer 10,000 years.