Google Quantum AI released an announcement on March 24 detailing the expansion of its research program into neutral atomic quantum computing, a technology that uses individual atoms as processing units (qubits).
In the text, the company claims it is “increasingly confident” that quantum computers based on superconducting technology are commercially relevant. Expected to be available by the end of this year. This is the first time Google has set such a specific time frame for this goal.
The announcement was signed by Hartmut Neven, founder and leader of Google Quantum AI, who has led the development of superconducting qubits for more than a decade. Under his leadership, the team achieved milestones including performance beyond traditional capabilities, quantum error correction, and the demonstration of verifiable quantum benefits with the Willow chip.
There are specific reasons why you can be confident about that deadline. Google has already solved two of the most difficult problems on the way to creating a useful quantum computer.
- The first is to demonstrate that quantum computers can outperform classical computers on certain tasks, which was achieved with the Sycamore chip in 2019.
- The second is error correction. This is a significant hurdle because qubits are inherently unstable and prone to failure. Google has used Willow to demonstrate that it can detect and correct such errors without destroying quantum information in the process.
With these two issues overcome, the pending challenge is engineering. This means scaling systems to tens of thousands of qubits while maintaining operational quality. It was precisely this advancement that led to the creation of Google.for the first time a public deadline has been set for the introduction of commercially relevant systems.
To be clear, when Google talks about “commercially relevant” computers; Does not refer to equipment prepared for the mass marketHowever, systems that can solve problems of real value to industries such as pharmaceuticals, computational chemistry, and finance involve tasks that cannot be reached today by classical computers.
Two technologies to help you reach your goals faster
The decision to introduce neutral atoms Accurately meet challenges of scaleThis is where the strategy of betting on two simultaneous technologies makes sense. Google’s long-standing feature, superconducting qubits, can run extremely deep circuits in cycles as short as microseconds. Although they are fast and Google has years of manufacturing experience, scaling their quantities to tens of thousands without compromising quality remains a manufacturing and management challenge.
Neutral atoms work differently. Instead of circuits being etched into silicon chips cooled to temperatures near absolute zero, lasers are used to capture and manipulate individual atoms in a vacuum. This makes it easier to scale the number of qubits. — deployments of about 10,000 have already been achieved — and flexible connectivity that allows any qubit to interact with other qubits, which simplifies certain algorithms and error-correcting codes. The downside is speed. Its cycles are measured in milliseconds and are 1,000 times slower than superconductors.
From a practical point of view, Google explains this difference because superconducting qubits are easier to scale. In the dimension of time, or computational depth, neutral atoms are easier to scale in the dimension of space, or the number of qubits. Having both technologies advance in parallel means Google can tackle scale issues on two fronts: accelerating overall timelines and providing platforms tailored to different types of business problems.
To lead experimental research using neutral atoms, Google has hired Dr. Adam Kaufman, a physicist at the University of Colorado Boulder and a member of the JILA Institute. Kaufman will maintain his academic affiliation while leading a new hardware team in Boulder, Colorado, known as a world center for atomic and molecular physics. Google is also working with its portfolio company QuEra, which has developed fundamental methods for computing with neutral atoms.
What this means for cryptocurrencies
This breakthrough has a direct impact on the cryptographic protocols that secure transactions on cryptocurrency networks. Google’s own team warned about how vulnerable current encryption is to advances in quantum computing.
The encryption that secures Bitcoin wallets and other cryptocurrencies is based on mathematical problems that would take a classical computer thousands of years to solve. A sufficiently powerful quantum computer could do it in hours or minutes.which makes the pre-2030 horizon mentioned by Google a concrete reference for the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
Although the industry has been discussing the transition to post-quantum cryptography for years, most major networks have yet to implement standards that are resistant to this type of attack. Google’s advances are not an immediate threat, but they do speed up the time it takes for the ecosystem to transition.
(Tag translation) Quantum computing
