Google brought Quantum Computing closer to reality

Google brought Quantum Computing closer to reality

Google has increased the excitement in the world of quantum computing with another big announcement. Alphabet Inc.’s Google announced its new chip, *Willow*, which solves a mathematical equation much faster than a classical computer. The biggest thing is that Google has crossed a crucial milestone towards an error-free quantum computer – which is considered the “holy grail” of quantum technology.

The Journey of Quantum Computing:

Earlier also there was hype about quantum computing, like in 2019 Google launched *Sycamore processor*. That processor showed its superiority over classical computers by solving a mathematical equation. Even then it was felt that this technology would change every aspect, but it was not ready for practical use. At the same time, Nvidia's powerful chips made the competition even tougher by simulating quantum computing.

 Classical vs Quantum Computing:

     Classical Computers: Use digital bits that work only in 1s and 0s, like on/off transistors.

      Quantum Computers: Use Qubits, which can also process values ​​between 1 and 0. To understand this analogy, if classical computers are black and white, then quantum computers represent the shades of the entire color wheel.

This is the power of quantum computing, but qubits are very delicate and error-prone too. Google has now taken a big step in correcting these errors.

 Current Developments and Players:

The quantum computing industry is silently progressing. Now some companies have started giving authoritative results:

    IonQ Inc: Set up a quantum computer in Switzerland and plans to manufacture five more machines.

    Rigetti Computing, Quantinuum, Pascal, Quantum Circuits Inc: Models of all these are available on Amazon Braket and Microsoft Azure.

    Google and IBM: Provide software tools for quantum computers, IBM's "Qiskit" platform is an example of this.

Impact of Willow Chip:

Google's "Willow chip" has further expanded the possibilities of quantum computing. The company has developed a special solution for making superconducting qubits in Santa Barbara, California. The advantage of superconducting qubits is that scaling them is relatively easy with the help of the semiconductor industry.

Two Camps in Quantum Computing:

There are two camps in the quantum computing race:

1. Superconducting Qubits (Manufactured): Players like Google, IBM and Rigetti are focused on this technology.

2. Natural Qubits (Atoms and Photons): Startups like IonQ, Quantinuum and Atom Computing create qubits using lasers.

 Future and Investment:

The quantum computing industry is now in the "backstretch", and the progress is happening quickly.

- IonQ's shares are at their highest level so far.

- Rigetti's shares have doubled since Dec 6.

- Quantinuum's shares can also go public in the future.

Google's new announcement has brought new hope for investors and researchers. Investors like Honeywell should now focus on the long-term potential of this technology because the payoff will be worth the wait.

The race for quantum computing has become like a real-life reality show in which scientists and engineers are trying to usher in a new computing era. Whoever builds the first practical and error-free quantum computer will define the future.