STORY: Google says it has solved a major challenge in quantum computing, with a new chip that can run almost imperceptibly.
The tech giant says it can perform a single routine test in less than five minutes, which would take one of today’s fastest computers 10 septillion years.
That’s farther than the universe has ever been.
Google says the results prove the theory that quantum computing is entering a variety of parallel areas.
Called “Willow”, the new chip has 105 so-called “qubits” – the building blocks of quantum machines.
They are very fast but also very erratic, and can be upset by something as small as a passing subatomic particle.
Now Google says it has found a way to make them more reliable, and says it can even correct errors in real time.
That’s a big step toward building a working quantum computer.
Google hopes that such tools could one day bring major advances in fields such as AI and medicine.
In a blog post on Monday, it said – even under ideal conditions – it would take a conventional computer a billion years to achieve results like Willow’s.
The processors are designed in a new purpose-built facility in Santa Barbara, California.
Rival firms are focusing on building chips with more qubits, but Google says improving reliability is key to delivering a viable system.
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