China’s new Quantum technology is 100 trillion times faster than Google’s

A research team from the China University of Science and Technology declared “Quantum Supremacy” when they published new research on quantum computing in the journal Science. China’s new quantum computer is the fastest ever.

Google’s Sycamore was previously the world’s fastest quantum computer, with 54 cubits of quantum computing power. Google declared quantum supremacy with Sycamore in October 2019 by performing a 200-year computation that would have taken 10,000 years for the world’s fastest supercomputer. (In case you were wondering; Quantum Supremacy is when a quantum computer can accomplish a task that no supercomputer could.)

The research team at the China University of Science and Technology performed a simulated comparison similar to its quantum computation. China’s best quantum computer, dubbed Jiuzhang, performed a 3-minute computation that would have taken TaihuLight, the fastest supercomputer in the country and the third in the world, 2 billion years.

Google and China did not perform the same calculations on their systems, so a direct comparison is impossible, but the research team estimates that its quantum computer is 100 trillion times faster than Google.

The main difference between Google and Chinese quantum technology is the means of computation. Google uses supercooled superconducting material for its solution, while China University of Science and Technology used photons as its support.

If you want to dive into the details of China’s new quantum computer, Wired has posted an excellent detailed breakdown of technology. If you want to go into technical details, you can findresearch paper in Science.