Google Willow: How the tech giant made quantum leap in computing

tech.hindustantimes.com:

What happened on 9th Dec,2024 could be one of the ‘One small step for Google yet a giant leap for mankind' moment. Google on that day unveiled its latest quantum chip – Willow. Willow can perform a standard benchmark operation (Random circuit sampling) that would take one of today's fastest computers 10 25 years in just under 5 minutes. And, by the way, 10 25 is a number vastly greater than the current estimated age of the universe.

For many of us, quantum physics is something that is very difficult to wrap our head around. Quantum mechanics is quite similar to the Indian nod – Is it a Yes? Or a No? Or is it something in between? Quantum states (Called superposition) are very similar to this in that a quantum particle (Called a Qubit) can represent multiple possibilities simultaneously. If the Indian head nod isn't really helping your understanding, you could also think of this as a coin flipping in mid-air – It could be heads or tails or both all at once. While the systems in nature and the world around us are quantum mechanical in nature, that is usually not how we humans experience it and hence the complexity in comprehension. Well, whether you think you understand it (or not) you can take solace in what the great physicist Richard Feynman said, 'If you think you understand quantum mechanics, you don't understand quantum mechanics'.

The advantage that a quantum computer would have over a classical computer is not only its computational speed, but also that it is close to how nature operates. Hence, some applications like weather prediction, climate change, nuclear fusion etc. may only be possible with quantum computers. Beyond that, there are a slew of currently unfathomable applications in pharmaceuticals, material sciences, battery storage etc.

The 'Hello world' moment to this development happened in 2019, when Google announced the development of its quantum chip that exhibited quantum supremacy. Meaning this computer was capable of solving a problem that would