A group of Chinese researchers has built a prototype quantum computer that processes data 10 billion times faster than Google’s 53-qubit device. The results were published in the journal Science.
The Jiuzhang supercomputer consists of an array of optical devices that move photons around themselves. It includes light sources, hundreds of beam splitters, dozens of mirrors, and a multitude of photon detectors. In tests, up to 76 photons were achieved.
In 200 seconds, the device can perform a calculation that would take a conventional computer more than half a billion years. Scientists dubbed this event “quantum supremacy” — earlier it had been achieved in 2019 on Google’s supercomputer.
“A quantum computing breakthrough is like a threshold. It proves that if a new quantum computer prototype surpasses the strongest traditional one in certain tasks, then breakthroughs can occur in many other areas,” said Professor Lu Chaoyan of the University of Science and Technology of China.
The operation of quantum computers is based on the principle of superposition, and instead of bits, quantum bits (qubits) are used. Some researchers have described it as a real threat to the blockchain technology underlying cryptocurrencies.
When will Bitcoin be cracked, or how real is the threat from quantum computers
In January 2019, tech giant IBM introduced the first quantum computer for commercial and research purposes, the Q System One with a 20-qubit system.
In the spring of that year, IBM Blockchain for Finance Jesse Lund told ForkLog that building a fault-tolerant device capable of breaking some types of encryption would not come soon.
In November 2019, the Rosatom corporation announced the start of development of a quantum computer for 24 billion rubles. Its plans include obtaining four types of devices sized from 50 to 100 qubits by 2024.
In June 2020, aerospace group Honeywell unveiled a quantum computer with 64 qubits that was twice as powerful as Google’s and IBM’s prototypes.
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