Major Breakthrough Achieved by Google’s Willow Quantum Chip
Google has recently unveiled its groundbreaking Willow quantum chip. This significant milestone in quantum computing has the potential to revolutionize various fields, from medicine to artificial intelligence. The 105-qubit processor has achieved two major breakthroughs, sending shockwaves through the tech industry.
Most notably, Willow executed a complex computation in under five minutes. This computation would take today’s fastest supercomputers an astonishing 10 septillion years to complete. This timespan vastly exceeds the age of the universe, demonstrating what researchers refer to as “quantum supremacy” at an unprecedented level.
Perhaps even more crucial for the future of quantum computing, Willow successfully achieved “below-threshold” error correction. This milestone, first proposed in 1995, signifies a major advancement. Unlike previous quantum computers where adding more qubits increased errors, Willow actually reduces errors exponentially as it scales up. This breakthrough addresses one of the greatest challenges in quantum computing and brings practical, large-scale quantum computers significantly closer to reality.
“As the first system below threshold, this is the most convincing prototype for a scalable logical qubit built to date,” said Hartmut Neven, founder and lead of Google Quantum AI.
The achievement suggests that useful quantum computers capable of solving real-world problems in areas such as drug discovery, battery technology, and even nuclear fusion may be within reach.
Source: https://blog.google/technology/research/google-willow-quantum-chip/