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. Quantum computing is a nascent and somewhat bewildering technology for vastly sped-up information processing. The technique relies on quantum bits, or qubits, which can register data values of zero and one — the language of modern computing — simultaneously. Whether or not Google has achieved “quantum supremacy” or not may matter to competitors, but the semantics could be less important for the field of quantum research. “The quantum supremacy milestone allegedly achieved by Google is a pivotal step in the quest for practical quantum computers,” John Preskill, a Caltech professor who originally coined the “quantum supremacy” term, wrote in a column after the paper was leaked.

Source: Los Angeles Times October 23, 2019 09:22 UTC