by RC Porter
September 8, 2016
Google Said To Be On The Verge Of A Breakthrough In Quantum Computing; Could Usher In A New Age Of Computing With Potential Eye-Watering Results — The Dawn Of The Quantum Age
Google is said to be on the verge of a breakthrough/leap-ahead in the computer age as it is reportedly on the verge of unveiling the quantum computer. Ryan O’Hare wrote in the September 1, 2016 edition of The Daily Mail Online, citing an article in The New Scientist, that “researchers at Google may announce a breakthrough as soon as next year (2017), potentially reaching what the company terms ‘quantum supremacy,’ [well] before anyone expected.’ “Quantum supremacy is the term the company uses for its plans to build the first quantum computer — capable of performing calculations out of reach of [today’s] classical computers,” Mr. O’Hare wrote.
According to The New Scientist, “using existing classical supercomputers to simulate a 6×4 grid of quantum bits (24 qubits) needs 268 MB of memory; but, upping the size to a 6×7 grid (42 qubits) takes an enormous 70 terabytes.” “Google engineers reported their plans to hit this 42 qubit benchmark in a recent paper this month,” (see attachment) Mr. O’Hare noted. “Moving much beyond this barrier becomes unworkable for modern, classical computers — due to the enormous amounts of memory required. The theory remains a long way the practice, with the technology firm [Google] only publicly confirming it has achieved a 9-qubit machine. Google has also worked with Canadian quantum computing firm D-Wave, to push the boundaries of quantum computing, working with NASA’s Ames Research Center,” Mr. O’Hare wrote.
googlequantumpaper “If the [Google] team can push this [current effort] to a working machine, using a grid of just 50 qubits, it will have created a machine able to beat the best supercomputers which exist today; and, achieve quantum supremacy,” according to Mr. O’Hare.
Commenting on when Google could reach the milestone, Simon Devitt at the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter in Science in Japan told the New Scientist: “I’m going to be optimistic and say maybe the end of next year (2017). If they get it done, even within the next five years, that will be a tremendous leap forward.”
Scientists and engineers have been pursuing the holy grail of quantum computing for the last three decades. According to a March 23, 2016 article on the MIT Technology Review website, “the quest to build a powerful quantum computer is one of the great challenges of 21st century physics. The big challenge now,” the publication notes, “is scale — combining these techniques in a way that can handle large numbers of qubits; and, perform powerful, quantum calculations. Physicists have been able to run quantum algorithms on quantum computers for almost 20 years,’ the publication noted — the first two-and-three-qubit machines began number crunching in the late 1990s. But, since then, progress had been stalled because of the extreme difficulty in linking together large numbers of quantum particles — while maintaining their quantum states.”
The Dawn Of The Quantum Age — The Next Great Leap For Mankind?
The late astrophysicist,Carl Sagan once remarked, that “Quantum mechanics is so strange, common sense is almost useless in approaching it.” And, it would seem that mankind may finally be on the verge of discovering how quantum computing may change our lives. In a September 2, 2016 online editorial, Bloomberg News notes that “quantum computers could take advantage of subatomic interactions to solve [some of our most difficult and pressing] problems far faster,” than we can do so today. Instead of years, think months, instead of months, think days, instead of days, think hours, and so on. “Quantum computers could stimulate how atoms and molecules behave, to the great advantage of chemists, and drug designers,” Bloomberg noted. Quantum computing “could solve optimization problems, — i.e., how to [more] efficiently route airplane traffic — much faster than technology can. Quantum computers could speed advances in artificial intelligence, improve sensors, and lead to the design of stronger and lighter industrial materials,” the publication added. And, of course — make warfare look somewhat like Independence Day, and Star Wars.
Quantum computing will allow the breaking of unbreakable cryprtographic codes, revolutionize the information age, allow us to discover, and optimally treat disease much earlier, and better — a targeted treatment on steroids. Quantum computing could lead to the development of Star Trek-like technologies — the Tri-Corder, warp drive, and so on. “Within two decades, by some estimates,” Bloomberg warns, “quantum computers may be able to break all public key encryption in use.’ “The impact on the world economy,” according to the nonprofit, Cloud Security Alliance, could be devastating.” Perhaps that is one reason why “researchers are already working on “quantum restraint,” encryption.
I wonder what the late sci-fi writer Michael Crichton (Andromeda Strain, Jurassic Park, Micro) would have to say about the unintended consequences of what quantum computing might bring. To be sure, the darker angels of our nature will no doubt try and will use this new technology for nefarious purposes. As another sci-fi/horror writer, Stephen King once wrote — “God Punishes Us For What We Cannot Imagine.”
Here’s hoping the white hats get their — to quantum computing nirvana — first and, let the good that this revolutionary leap ahead technology can provide — vastly outweigh the bad.
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