Chinese Developers Claim World's Fastest Quantum Computer

Google
(Image credit: Google)

Chinese researchers have demonstrated what they claim to be the most powerful quantum computer in the world. To prove how fast the supercomputer is , the researchers completed a convoluted calculation that would take a typical supercomputer about eight years to complete in little over an hour.  

The Zuchongzhi quantum computer is a 66-qubit machine, reports ZME ScienceFor comparison, Google's Sycamore chip features 53 qubits, whereas IBM's Q System One chip packs 20 qubits. Packing qubits into chips and creating the quantum mechanical superposition effect is not easy, but ensuring that they work correctly (without an error) is even harder. To that end, 66 qubits is a major achievement. Furthermore, adding several qubits to a quantum CPU exponentially increases its performance 

Quantum computer chips have to be cooled down close to absolute zero (-273.15ºC), and this temperature has to be maintained, which makes it even harder to build quantum computers and use them. As a result, right now quantum computers are mostly used for experiments with high-performance computing by researchers and high-tech giants. 

The new Zuchongzhi processor is more versatile than its predecessor, the Jiuzhang quantum chip. Firstly, it is more programmable. Secondly, it is significantly more powerful. The researchers made the new quantum processor to perform a random quantum circuit sampling task, which it did in 1.2 hours. The same task will take an unreasonable amount of time to complete on a classic supercomputer.  

Google's Sycamore quantum computing processor with 53 qubits (pictured) is believed to be the first to achieve the so-called quantum supremacy, a term used to describe a quantum chip that can solve a task that no typical supercomputer can process in any reasonable amount of time. Google's Sycamore was followed by a 53-qubit Jiuzhang. This processor performed a complex job in 200 seconds. The same task would have taken the TaihuLight supercomputer around 2.5 billion years to complete. 

Anton Shilov
Freelance News Writer

Anton Shilov is a Freelance News Writer at Tom’s Hardware US. Over the past couple of decades, he has covered everything from CPUs and GPUs to supercomputers and from modern process technologies and latest fab tools to high-tech industry trends.

  • OriginFree
    "Quantum computer chips have to be cooled down to 273.15ºC and this temperature has to be maintained "

    Well to be fair it should be cooler than a pizza oven, but that's still over 500F
    Reply
  • escksu
    OriginFree said:
    "Quantum computer chips have to be cooled down to 273.15ºC and this temperature has to be maintained "

    Well to be fair it should be cooler than a pizza oven, but that's still over 500F

    Haha, the article forgotten the - (minus sign). Btw, its impossible to achieve -273.15C because that would be 0K. We can only go close to it.
    Reply
  • lvt
    Let's start mining some crypto money with it.
    Reply
  • digitalgriffin
    Yep minor error there. I think you meant -273.15C which is near 0 Kelvin. The state at which even electrons spin stops. Makes them easier than read. Usually achieved through some type of magnetic field flux alternation.
    Reply
  • Schlachtwolf
    Very nice but I will stick to my 5900x and wait for DDR5.......:ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO: I mean what sort of FPS do you get in CS:GO ????
    Reply
  • Howardohyea
    why does people only care about gaming on ridiculously fast (and ridiculously weird) hardware like servers and quantum computers?

    If you want gaming-capable quantum hardware, I'd say there's a full decade of work to do, for now, it's only experiments.
    Reply
  • Schlachtwolf
    Howardohyea said:
    why does people only care about gaming on ridiculously fast (and ridiculously weird) hardware like servers and quantum computers?

    If you want gaming-capable quantum hardware, I'd say there's a full decade of work to do, for now, it's only experiments.
    Oh man I was being sarcastic......
    Reply
  • Howardohyea
    sorry I didn't get that
    Reply
  • jkflipflop98
    We noticed.
    Reply
  • eichwana
    Howardohyea said:
    why does people only care about gaming on ridiculously fast (and ridiculously weird) hardware like servers and quantum computers?

    If you want gaming-capable quantum hardware, I'd say there's a full decade of work to do, for now, it's only experiments.

    Think about it like this: what can be realistically be done with this today, or next week, or next year? How would it compare for the majority of people’s uses, and what would they use it for?

    At the moment it’s all about experimenting, and they talk about how it can be used for calculations that would take years, but what would that realistically mean for us little people who just go about their daily lives?
    Reply