In 2019, Google’s quantum computer did a calculation in less than four minutes that would take the world’s most powerful computer 10 thousand years to do. It is a seed for what will be an even more impressive feat: fully functional and practical quantum computers being built right now which could help us understand better medicines while also creating smarter AI.
In 200 seconds, the machine performed a mathematically designed calculation so complex that it would take IBM Summit 10 thousand years to do it. This makes Google Quantum Computer 158 million times faster than the fastest supercomputer in existence.
Richard Feynman, a famous physicist said that “No one really knows what quantum computing is” but we certainly do now. With the help of these amazing machines which can store information as particles having spin and momentum.
Why Is It So Fast?
The way a classical or regular computer works is by manipulating strings of bits. These can only have values either 0s and 1s, depending on the electrical charge applied to them; they are paired together as two separate entities for example 10 would be represented in binary code with 010 whereas 1101 signifies an all-zeros string (0000). With three different options at your disposal – 10/00/,1/?11-, there’s now 4096 possible combinations available! This number grows exponentially when you include more variables into consideration like individual letters that need analyzing rather than just numbers alone: 4 x 3 x 2.
In the future, quantum computers may soon replace our current way of computing. These powerful machines store information as particles that can exist in two or more states simultaneously- this means they have an exponentially higher storage capacity than traditional bits which only exist on a continuum from 0 to 1.
Though quantum computers are still in their infancy, there is a long way to go before your home can boast one. The processor would need to operate at room temperature and be sensitive enough so it doesn’t overload the system with calculations like Google’s current prototype which only beats out supercomputers designed for this purpose but not useful problems that might require more complex processing power.