Google demonstrated on Monday a new so-called quantum computer chip, which means a breakthrough for the technology.
The chip, called Willow, is said to be able to perform complex tasks in a few minutes that today's leading supercomputers would need 10 to the power of 25 years to accomplish, according to Google's Hartmut Neven, who leads the development of quantum computers.
It means a one followed by 25 zeros, says Neven, one of about 300 Google employees who research the new technology.
Impossible high numbers
Willow's figure, according to Neven, indicates that the calculations take place in parallel universes. The figure exceeds physical time limits and the age of the universe.
We live in a multiverse, says Neven.
The theory of the multiverse originated in the 1950s and, simplified, states that there are real parallel versions of all events – like a tree with many branches – that cannot interact with each other.
Fewer errors
The quantum computer differs from a classical computer in that it does not use binary information with ones and zeros, but works with ones and zeros simultaneously – which makes it possible to perform an enormous number of calculations simultaneously. What makes Willow better than previous attempts in the field is that the number of calculation errors is significantly fewer.
It is still a long way to practical use, according to Google, but CEO Sundar Pichai claims that the quantum computer can solve difficult challenges in areas such as climate change and fusion energy. Google itself talks about quantum computer technology in six steps, with the current achievement with Willow being step two.
For Google, the breakthrough means that the company is writing scientific history twice in the same week. On Tuesday, Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google Deepmind, will be awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for how AI can calculate protein folding.
The fundamental building blocks of a quantum computer are called qubits and are based on different principles than today's computers. Simplified, a classical computer uses information, bits, in ones and zeros. Either or.
Qubits, however, can also be one and zero at the same time. Moreover, for each qubit, the number of possible values doubles, making quantum computers quickly superior to classical computers. A classical computer processes one number at a time. A quantum computer can perform the same calculation on many numbers simultaneously.
The number of qubits does not say everything about how powerful a quantum computer is, but with 300 qubits, there are already more possible values than the number of particles in the entire observable universe.
Various discoverers in quantum mechanics were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2012 and 2022.
Sources: National Encyclopedia and Chalmers, among others
