Recently, two tech giants Google and Microsoft released their next-gen quantum chips–Google’s Willow and Microsoft’s Majorana. “Willow” aims to make quantum computing accessible, while “Majorana” promises significant breakthroughs within years, not decades. Even so, how do these chips work? And are these claims actually realistic?

 

Quantum bits (qubits) can represent a 1 and a 0 simultaneously compared to a traditional bit, which can only store either a 1 or 0. However, this doesn’t mean they’re always faster. Instead, quantum computers excel at tasks requiring parallel processing (like a GPU), but they wouldn’t be much faster at browsing the internet than a traditional Intel i7 chip. Additionally, qubits have high error rates, which can disrupt calculations.

 

But although quantum computing is somewhat unreliable and has a niche use case, it can be used for other applications that would take a traditional computer multiple years to compute. For example, quantum computers can be used to crack encryption methods by using Shor’s algorithm (see bottom of article), which requires a significant amount of parallel processing. However, quantum computers are not only used for cryptography–they can be used for weather forecasting and supply chain management as well.

 

Google hopes to overcome some of the most difficult obstacles in quantum computing: stability and scalability. Google designed Willow in such a way that the more qubits there are on the chip, the fewer errors are encountered. Google was able to fit 105 qubits on the chip as well, and the chip also solved a problem that would have taken a traditional supercomputer 10 septillion years to complete. Overall, Google promises much, and it looks like they are on track to deliver, but the “Willow” chip still needs near-perfect conditions for it to be useful, as its temperature needs to be at absolute zero (-273.15°C) in order for it to function properly.

 

On the other hand, Microsoft has decided to harness the power of Majorana zero nodes (another form of matter, much like solids, liquids, and gases) to fuel their quantum dreams. These zero nodes have enabled topological qubits, which are more stable and resistant to errors than traditional qubits.

 

In conclusion, both Microsoft and Google have made significant progress in quantum computing, but there is still much to be done in order to get it out of its infant stage and into real-world applications.