Google Announces Solution to a Big Problem in Quantum Computing
2024-12-16
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1Google recently said that it had solved a major problem in supercomputing with a new generation of processor called Willow.
2Along with other technology companies such as Microsoft and International Business Machines (IBM), Google, whose parent company is Alphabet, is working on quantum computing.
3The new development promises to increase computing speeds while limiting mistakes, or errors, which are a problem with quantum computing systems.
4Scientists at the company's Santa Barbara, California quantum laboratory announced they had at least partly solved the error problem on December 9.
5On the same day, the scientific publication Nature published their paper on error correction.
6Google said that the Willow processor carried out a computation in under five minutes that would have taken a fast supercomputer longer than the current age of the universe to complete.
7The work of the Google researchers, however, does not have any commercial uses yet.
8But Google hopes quantum computers will one day solve problems in medicine, battery chemistry and artificial intelligence (AI) that today's computers cannot solve.
9The Willow processor, or chip, runs on units of data called "quantum bits" or "qubits" for short.
10Qubits permit fast computing but can easily create errors.
11Google researchers have a theory that qubits might be affected by subatomic particles from events in space.
12As more qubits are placed onto a chip, however, the errors can increase to make the chip no better than today's usual computer chips.
13As a result, scientists have been working on quantum error-correction since the 1990s.
14Hartmut Neven, who leads Google's Quantum AI group, said that Willow has 105 qubits.
15In the paper recently published in Nature, Google researchers said they have found a way to connect the Willow chip's qubits so that error rates go down as the number of qubits goes up.
16Neven also said Willow can correct errors in "real time."
17That is an important step toward making quantum computers useful.
18"We are past the break even point," Neven told Reuters.
19In a blog post, he said it was an unmistakable sign that "error correction is improving overall."
20In 2019, IBM challenged the claim that Google's quantum chip solved a problem that would take a normal computer 10,000 years to complete.
21IBM said the problem could be solved in two-and-a-half days using different assumptions about computer system design.
22Google said in its blog post that it considered some of those concerns in its newest estimates.
23Even under the best conditions, Google said a computer of today would still take a billion years to get the same results as its latest chip.
24Some of Google's competitors are producing chips with more qubits than Willow.
25But Anthony Megrant, who is also with Google Quantum AI, told Reuters that Google is trying to make the most dependable qubits possible.
26Google produced its earlier chips in a shared building at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
27But for the Willow chips, Google built its own special laboratory.
28Megrant said that the new lab will speed up the process of making future chips.
29One major problem is that quantum chips must be kept at low temperatures in machines that can produce extremely low temperatures called cryostats.
30The new laboratory permits the researchers to work more quickly.
31"If we have a good idea, we want somebody on the team to be able to...get into that clean room and into one of these cryostats as fast as possible, so we can get lots of cycles of learning," Megrant said.
32I'm Jill Robbins.
1Google recently said that it had solved a major problem in supercomputing with a new generation of processor called Willow. 2Along with other technology companies such as Microsoft and International Business Machines (IBM), Google, whose parent company is Alphabet, is working on quantum computing. The new development promises to increase computing speeds while limiting mistakes, or errors, which are a problem with quantum computing systems. 3Scientists at the company's Santa Barbara, California quantum laboratory announced they had at least partly solved the error problem on December 9. On the same day, the scientific publication Nature published their paper on error correction. 4Google said that the Willow processor carried out a computation in under five minutes that would have taken a fast supercomputer longer than the current age of the universe to complete. 5The work of the Google researchers, however, does not have any commercial uses yet. But Google hopes quantum computers will one day solve problems in medicine, battery chemistry and artificial intelligence (AI) that today's computers cannot solve. 6The Willow chip 7The Willow processor, or chip, runs on units of data called "quantum bits" or "qubits" for short. Qubits permit fast computing but can easily create errors. Google researchers have a theory that qubits might be affected by subatomic particles from events in space. 8As more qubits are placed onto a chip, however, the errors can increase to make the chip no better than today's usual computer chips. As a result, scientists have been working on quantum error-correction since the 1990s. 9Hartmut Neven, who leads Google's Quantum AI group, said that Willow has 105 qubits. 10In the paper recently published in Nature, Google researchers said they have found a way to connect the Willow chip's qubits so that error rates go down as the number of qubits goes up. Neven also said Willow can correct errors in "real time." That is an important step toward making quantum computers useful. 11"We are past the break even point," Neven told Reuters. In a blog post, he said it was an unmistakable sign that "error correction is improving overall." 12In 2019, IBM challenged the claim that Google's quantum chip solved a problem that would take a normal computer 10,000 years to complete. IBM said the problem could be solved in two-and-a-half days using different assumptions about computer system design. 13Google said in its blog post that it considered some of those concerns in its newest estimates. Even under the best conditions, Google said a computer of today would still take a billion years to get the same results as its latest chip. 14Some of Google's competitors are producing chips with more qubits than Willow. But Anthony Megrant, who is also with Google Quantum AI, told Reuters that Google is trying to make the most dependable qubits possible. 15Google produced its earlier chips in a shared building at the University of California, Santa Barbara. But for the Willow chips, Google built its own special laboratory. Megrant said that the new lab will speed up the process of making future chips. 16One major problem is that quantum chips must be kept at low temperatures in machines that can produce extremely low temperatures called cryostats. The new laboratory permits the researchers to work more quickly. 17"If we have a good idea, we want somebody on the team to be able to...get into that clean room and into one of these cryostats as fast as possible, so we can get lots of cycles of learning," Megrant said. 18I'm Jill Robbins. 19Stephen Nellis reported this story for Reuters news agency. Jill Robbins adapted it for Learning English with additional information from Google and Nature. 20______________________________________________ 21Words in This Story 22quantum - adj. of, relating to, or using the principles of quantum theory 23computation -n. an operation carried out by a computing device that is mathematical and digital in nature 24commercial -adj. related to business activity 25assumption -n. one of the basic conditions that is accepted in making a computation, but which might not exist in reality 26cycle - n. a repeating series of events or actions 27What do you think of this story? Write to us in the Comments Section.