It completes processes that would take 10 septillion years in minutes.
Google has introduced its next-generation quantum chip, called Willow, which represents a significant advance in quantum computing, capable of completing in minutes the same calculations that even today’s most powerful supercomputers would take 10 septillion years to complete.
Technology giant Google has developed a new chip in the field of quantum computing that has astonished the scientific world. This chip, which is only 4 cm² in size, can complete in just five minutes the operations that would take the fastest computers of the modern world 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 years. This time is even many times older than the known universe. Scientists describe this extraordinary development as "inconceivable".
This chip, called "Willow", was developed in Santa Barbara. Despite being the size of a mint, its performance opens the door to a new era in quantum computing. Willow, in particular, speeds up the development of new drugs and reduces the processes that take years in the experimental stages to minutes.
This groundbreaking performance is only possible thanks to the basic principles of quantum computing. Using the principle that matter can exist in more than one state at the same time, the technology works as if it were solving a problem in many universes at the same time. "This speed supports the idea that quantum computing takes place in parallel universes," said Hartmut Neven, founder of Google Quantum AI.
Measuring Willow’s speed is a major milestone in understanding the potential of quantum computing. The ability to perform operations that are beyond modern computers’ capabilities in such a short time has the potential to revolutionize medicine and materials science. According to Google, the incredible speed offered by the chip could be used in developing artificial intelligence algorithms, generating energy solutions such as nuclear fusion, and medical imaging systems. For example, MRI scans could be read at the atomic level, creating new datasets about the human body.
