Can quantum computers do things that standard, classical computers can't? No. But if they can calculate faster, that's quantum supremacy.
On the left, a classical "bit" is illustrated: a two-state system that can have either "0" or "1" as its value. On the right, a quantum two-state system, or qubit, is shown. When you make a measurement, you'll always observe either a "0" or a "1" in practice, but when you perform operations on that qubit, you act on the indeterminate state represented by the arrow shown on the sphere.
Credit: Ben Gibson/Big Think
Key Takeaways
- Over the past several years, there have been tremendous advances in the field of quantum computation, but even greater amounts of hype surrounding those advances.
- A few years ago, quantum supremacy was achieved for the first time, where a quantum computer performed a calculation millions of times faster and more efficiently than a classical computer.
- But that's a far cry from many of the technological advances being promised, including achieving quantum supremacy for a single practical problem. Here's how to separate fact vs. fiction.
Ethan Siegel
