Google scientists have completed a task on a quantum computer that would take a supercomputer 47 years to finish. The study, published on ArXiv, describes how they used Google’s upgraded quantum computer with 70 qubits, which are the equivalent of classical computer bits.
The task was a random circuit sampling calculation, which involves running random circuits and analyzing the resulting outputs to evaluate the capabilities of a quantum computer. The scientists performed the calculation on a 70-qubit quantum computer, which is significantly more powerful than previous quantum computers.
The researchers compared their results to Frontier, the world’s leading supercomputer. They found that it would take Frontier 6.18 seconds to match a calculation from Google’s 53-qubit computer from 2019, and 47.2 years to match the calculation performed on the 70-qubit computer.
The researchers believe that their results demonstrate that quantum computers are now capable of performing tasks that are beyond the capabilities of classical computers. This breakthrough could have major implications for the future of computing, as quantum computers could be used to solve problems that are currently intractable for classical computers.
The sources for this piece include an article in The QuantumInsider.
