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Google Acheives Quantum Supremacy

Posted on 9/25/19 at 7:19 pm
Posted by AUstar
Member since Dec 2012
16980 posts
Posted on 9/25/19 at 7:19 pm
quote:

This could be the dawn of a new era in computing. Google has claimed that its quantum computer performed a calculation that would be practically impossible for even the best supercomputer – in other words, it has attained quantum supremacy.

If true, it is big news. Quantum computers have the potential to change the way we design new materials, work out logistics, build artificial intelligence and break encryption. That is why firms like Google, Intel and IBM – along with plenty of start-ups – have been racing to reach this crucial milestone.


...

quote:

The paper describes how Google’s quantum processor tackled a random sampling problem – that is, checking that a set of numbers has a truly random distribution. This is very difficult for a traditional computer when there are a lot of numbers involved.

But Sycamore does things differently. Although one of its qubits didn’t work, the remaining 53 were quantum entangled with one another and used to generate a set of binary digits and check their distribution was truly random. The paper calculates the task would have taken Summit, the world’s best supercomputer, 10,000 years – but Sycamore did it in 3 minutes and 20 seconds.



TL;DR - Google's quantum computer can do a task in 3 minutes that would take the largest supercomputer in the world 10,000 years to complete. And, no, I am not sure what framerate in Crisis it can achieve.

New Scientist



This post was edited on 9/25/19 at 7:20 pm
Posted by papasmurf1269
Hells Pass
Member since Apr 2005
20883 posts
Posted on 9/25/19 at 7:21 pm to
Posted by baybeefeetz
Member since Sep 2009
31623 posts
Posted on 9/25/19 at 7:21 pm to
How will this affect porn? That’s usually how new tech gets measured.
Posted by teke184
Zachary, LA
Member since Jan 2007
94742 posts
Posted on 9/25/19 at 7:21 pm to
And they will still adjust it to downgrade “fake news” in its computing calculations.
Posted by TigersSEC2010
Warren, Michigan
Member since Jan 2010
37355 posts
Posted on 9/25/19 at 7:22 pm to
Can someone translate this from nerd to English? They don’t teach this at River Parishes CC.

Thanks baws
Posted by Prominentwon
LSU, McNeese St. Fan
Member since Jan 2005
93682 posts
Posted on 9/25/19 at 7:22 pm to
Posted by TIGER2
Mandeville.La
Member since Jan 2006
10486 posts
Posted on 9/25/19 at 7:26 pm to
So they took and old super computer and put it up against a new faster one. Bunch of geeks.
Posted by momentoftruth87
Member since Oct 2013
71097 posts
Posted on 9/25/19 at 7:27 pm to
quote:


TL;DR - Google's quantum computer can do a task in 3 minutes that would take the largest supercomputer in the world 10,000 years to complete


Break this down further please. Define task as well. Sounds cool, but what do we gain?
Posted by HailHailtoMichigan!
Mission Viejo, CA
Member since Mar 2012
69227 posts
Posted on 9/25/19 at 7:32 pm to
How will this affect my life?
Posted by eScott
Member since Oct 2008
11376 posts
Posted on 9/25/19 at 7:32 pm to
AI

A primary application for quantum computing is artificial intelligence (AI). AI is based on the principle of learning from experience, becoming more accurate as feedback is given, until the computer program appears to exhibit “intelligence.”

This feedback is based on calculating the probabilities for many possible choices, and so AI is an ideal candidate for quantum computation. It promises to disrupt every industry, from automotives to medicine, and it’s been said AI will be to the twenty-first century what electricity was to the twentieth.
This post was edited on 9/26/19 at 4:27 am
Posted by ElectricWizard0
Member since Jul 2017
2702 posts
Posted on 9/25/19 at 7:33 pm to
Buncha freakin nerds
Posted by AUstar
Member since Dec 2012
16980 posts
Posted on 9/25/19 at 7:34 pm to
quote:

Can someone translate this from nerd to English?


A quantum computer takes two particles (electrons or photons) and entangles them together to do calculations. A traditional computer bit is a 1 or a 0. With a quantum computer, a bit is a 1 and 0 at the same time. So instead of calculating X or Y, a QC can calculate X and Y at the same time. This results in an exponential speedup in various computing tasks (in some tasks, but not in others).

The military wants it because it can break (most) known cryptography, meaning we can spy on anyone who uses traditional crypto. I'm sure NSA would love to have a big fat QC in their basement. Even if the adversary invents quantum proof cryptography (already being worked on), NSA certainly has lots of old documents they'd love to decrypt. If you can decrypt a 10 year old Russian or Chinese document, this could still be highly relevant today for the intelligence agencies.

The private sector wants it because it can really help with research in chemistry, nuclear research, medicine, etc. We can simulate stuff really quickly with it. Instead of buying time on a massive supercomputer and waiting for a long time for a half-assed simulation, you can get a much better one in a much shorter time with a QC.

Quantum computing isn't a new idea. I believe people were discussing it in the 60's. The problem has always been an engineering one, sorta like nuclear fusion. In both cases we know theoretically it can work, but doing it is the hard part. Google is showing they are making progress in making it actually work.
This post was edited on 9/25/19 at 7:37 pm
Posted by Dandy Lion
Member since Feb 2010
50246 posts
Posted on 9/25/19 at 7:34 pm to
The same Google that manufactured my pixel to go wonky right at month 36?
Posted by dbeck
Member since Nov 2014
29448 posts
Posted on 9/25/19 at 7:36 pm to
quote:

Break this down further please. Define task as well. Sounds cool, but what do we gain?

These computers use a completely different type of processor that isn't bound by the limits of heat and speed that normal computers have. The way they work is pretty technical. They use quantum entanglement instead of simple electrical signals.

Long story short, quantum computing will make modern computers look like a fricking abacus by comparison.
Posted by hottub
Member since Dec 2012
3323 posts
Posted on 9/25/19 at 7:38 pm to
Aren’t they extremely fragile and require to be kept at extremely low temperatures?
Posted by Obtuse1
Westside Bodymore Yo
Member since Sep 2016
25541 posts
Posted on 9/25/19 at 7:41 pm to
quote:

Sounds cool, but what do we gain?


You can think of it simply as a huge jump in processing speed, like no jump before in the history of computing.

Things like weather prediction, traffic control, drug/chemical development, AI and online security are some of the beneficiaries that have very obvious practical applications to our everyday lives.
Posted by Tom Servo
Member since Aug 2009
515 posts
Posted on 9/25/19 at 7:41 pm to
Can I play Minesweeper on it?
Posted by AUstar
Member since Dec 2012
16980 posts
Posted on 9/25/19 at 7:41 pm to
quote:

Aren’t they extremely fragile and require to be kept at extremely low temperatures?


Yes, so far. I believe they need liquid nitrogen and shite right now.

Again, there are a lot of parallels with nuclear fusion. In order to get energy from fusion, you need to do a lot of very hard engineering like containing the plasma ball in a magnetic field. That's why people want "cold fusion" which scientists in the 80's claimed they had (and was later found to be a fraud).
Posted by KingOrange
Mayfair
Member since Aug 2018
8686 posts
Posted on 9/25/19 at 7:43 pm to
quote:

How will this affect my life?


AI will read your mind and start posting for you.
Posted by Cosmo
glassman's guest house
Member since Oct 2003
120144 posts
Posted on 9/25/19 at 7:45 pm to
This means we are a step closer to skynet
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