Google's 'mind-boggling' quantum chip can perform 'impossible' tasks in five minutes that take the fastest supercomputers 10 SEPTILLION years to complete

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Google's 'mind-boggling' quantum chip can perform 'impossible' tasks in five minutes that take the fastest supercomputers 10 SEPTILLION years to complete
Published: Dec, 10 2024 13:36

Google has taken a major step towards creating a quantum computer, after unveiling a 'mind-boggling' quantum chip - its most powerful yet. Measuring 1.5-inches (4cm) – a little larger than an After Eight mint – the chip takes five minutes to complete tasks that would take conventional computers 10 septillion years.

 [Willow takes five minutes to complete tasks that would take conventional computers 10 septillion years. That's 10 followed by 24 zeroes, or 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 - so more time than the history of the universe]
Image Credit: Mail Online [Willow takes five minutes to complete tasks that would take conventional computers 10 septillion years. That's 10 followed by 24 zeroes, or 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 - so more time than the history of the universe]

That's 10 followed by 24 zeroes, or 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 years – so more time than the history of the universe. Crucially, Google's chip has demonstrated the ability to reduce computational errors exponentially as it scales up – a feat that has eluded researchers for nearly 30 years.

 [Google says: 'Our new chip demonstrates error correction and performance that paves the way to a useful, large-scale quantum computer']
Image Credit: Mail Online [Google says: 'Our new chip demonstrates error correction and performance that paves the way to a useful, large-scale quantum computer']

Ultimately, the aim is to build a 'commercial' quantum computer – one that could be purchased by members of the public and used in labs, offices and even homes. As this is still a decade or two away at least, for now, firms like Google and IBM are building 'experimental' quantum computers that are still in the research and development phase.

 [A cryostat refrigerator for cooling quantum computing chips is displayed at Google's Quantum AI lab in Santa Barbara, California]
Image Credit: Mail Online [A cryostat refrigerator for cooling quantum computing chips is displayed at Google's Quantum AI lab in Santa Barbara, California]

In the near future, scientists expect quantum computers will replace the 'classical' computers at our desks and revolutionise our lives. These ultra-powerful machines, which use the spooky effects of quantum physics, could do everything from speed up AI, solve climate change and discover lifesaving drugs.

 [Google CEO Sundar Pichai called Willow 'an important step in our journey to build a useful quantum computer']
Image Credit: Mail Online [Google CEO Sundar Pichai called Willow 'an important step in our journey to build a useful quantum computer']

Measuring 1.5-inch (4cm), a little larger than an After Eight mint, Willow paves the way to a useful, large-scale quantum computer. Willow takes five minutes to complete tasks that would take conventional computers 10 septillion years. That's 10 followed by 24 zeroes, or 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 - so more time than the history of the universe.

 [According to Google, Willow can run 105 'qubits' - the basic unit of information in quantum computing - which is more than its Sycamore chip that had 70 qubits (pictured)]
Image Credit: Mail Online [According to Google, Willow can run 105 'qubits' - the basic unit of information in quantum computing - which is more than its Sycamore chip that had 70 qubits (pictured)]

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