Table of Contents
TWO TYPE OF COMPUTERS
THE LIMITS OF CLASSICAL COMPUTERS
- Even though a classical computer helps us do many amazing things, “under the hood” it’s really just a calculator that uses a sequence of bits—values of 0 and 1 to represent two states (think on and off switch) to makes sense of and decisions about the data we input following a prearranged set of instructions.
THE POWER OF QUANTUM COMPUTERS
- Instead of bits, which conventional computers use, a quantum computer uses quantum bits—known as qubits. To illustrate the difference, imagine a sphere. A bit can be at either of the two poles of the sphere, but a qubit can exist at any point on the sphere.
- So, this means that a computer using qubits can store an enormous amount of information and uses less energy doing so than a classical computer. By entering into this quantum area of computing where the traditional laws of physics no longer apply, we will be able to create processors that are significantly faster (a million or more times) than the ones we use today.
CHANGES THAT QUANTUM COMPUTING AN BRING
- It’s predicted that artificial intelligence, and in particular machine learning, can benefit from advances in quantum computing technology, and will continue to do so, even before a full quantum computing solution is available.
- Quantum computing algorithms allow us to enhance what’s already possible with machine learning.
SO, WHAT IS QUANTUM SUPREMACY?
- It is a term proposed in 2012 by John Preskill, professor of theoretical physics at the California Institute of Technology.
- It describes the point where quantum computers can do things that classical computers cannot.
WHAT GOOGLE ACHIEVED
- In Google’s case, researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara have claimed to have developed a processor that took 200 seconds to do a calculation that would have taken a classical computer 10,000 years.
SO, WHAT GOOD DOES THAT DO?
- None, as far as practical applications are concerned.
- The task performed isn’t super important for this milestone; it’s much more about the fact that the milestone happened in the first place, the email from Google said. It cited the Wright brothers as an analogy:
- “For them to demonstrate that aviation is possible, it didn’t matter so much where the plane was headed, where it took off and landed, but that it was able to fly at all.”