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Google has unveiled a new chip which it says takes five minutes to solve a problem it would currently take one of the world’s fastest super-computers a septillion years to complete. The chip is the latest development in a field known as quantum computing – which is attempting to use the principles of particle physics to create a new type of mind-bogglingly powerful computer.
Google says its new quantum chip, dubbed “Willow”, incorporates key “breakthroughs” and “paves the way to a useful, large-scale quantum computer.” However experts say Willow is, for now, a largely experimental device, meaning a quantum computer powerful enough to solve a wide range of real-world problems is still years and billions of dollars away.
Quantum computers work in a fundamentally different way to the computer in your phone or laptop. They harness quantum mechanics – the strange behaviour of ultra-tiny particles – to crack problems far faster than traditional computers. It’s hoped quantum computers might eventually be able to use that ability to vastly speed up complex processes, such as creating new medicines.
There are also fears it could be used for ill – for example to break some types of encryption used to protect sensitive data. In February Apple announced that the encryption that protects iMessage chats is being made “quantum proof” to stop them being read by powerful future quantum computers.
Google’s new quantum chip was created by the company’s Quantum AI lab, led by Hartmut Neven, and he describes himself as the project’s “chief optimist.” He told the BBC that Willow would be used in some practical applications – but declined, for now, to provide more detail. However, he said the chip would help with the simulation of systems where quantum effects are important, such as in designing nuclear fusion reactors, understanding the functioning of drugs, and developing better car batteries.
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