The revolution measures two by two and a half centimeters. It consists of aluminum that has been applied to a piece of silicon. That little thing caused quite a stir almost two years ago. It could solve a tricky arithmetic problem in a good three minutes that would have taken a supercomputer thousands of years to complete – it’s a quantum processor. Sycamore (plane tree), as it was named by its inventors – researchers from the Internet company Google – was the first to demonstrate the superiority of quantum computers over conventional computers.
Quantum computers are seen as a promising way to increase the computing power of computers, they are the spearhead of progress. But it rotates quickly, and so the Sycamore processor is already ready for a museum. The Deutsches Museum was the first house in the world to receive a copy of the chip. “The Deutsches Museum was not the only museum that made inquiries,” says Hartmut Neven, lead researcher for the project at Google, “but the first.”
Many houses will go away empty-handed, because Google has had fewer than ten of the Sycamore processors produced. However, visitors to the Deutsches Museum will have to forego a live demonstration, because the chip only works if it is operated in absolute darkness and cooled down to close to absolute zero – it is not even that cold in the universe.
The universe also comes into play if you want to get an idea of what such a quantum computer actually does. If it had around 300 qubits – the equivalent of the bits in a conventional computer chip – it could assume more states than there are atoms in the entire universe.
The technology is still in its infancy
The Sycamore has not yet come close, it has 54 qubits, 53 of which worked when it solved the difficult arithmetic problem in 2019. The Google laboratory in Santa Barbara, California is now at around 100 qubits – so there is still a long way to go, especially since hundreds of thousands of qubits are needed for quantum computers, as one would actually like them to be. The problem with this is that the chips in quantum computers do not calculate as reliably as conventional ones. Therefore, for each qubit, several other qubits are needed to correct possible errors.
Then why all the hype? Well, that’s because of the special nature of the qubits. These can not only assume the state one or zero like the transistors on ordinary chips, but both at the same time. And they can also be interlaced. This means that the computing power doubles with every qubit. You can quickly get to astronomical sums. And you also need this when it comes to researching the properties of new materials, the folding of proteins with their infinite possibilities or when – very up-to-date – how the climate is developing is to be calculated.
In any case, Wolfgang Heckl, General Director of the Deutsches Museum, is overjoyed to be able to show this milestone in the history of technology in his house. There it is the youngest exhibit in a long line of ancestors – such as the first automobile or the first diesel engine.
Similar to these technical debuts, one must also see the state of quantum technology. There are still many obstacles to overcome. Most researchers do not believe that one of them is insurmountable. But, admits Google expert Neven, “the probability is not zero”. The researchers are worried about how to get the error correction under control. What is currently needed, according to Neven, is basic research and the training of the next generation at universities – otherwise, in the end, the people who master this technology could be missing.