Google researchers say they have broken through the milestone, meaning that a quantum computer has undertaken an operation that classical computers cannot.

Quantum supremacy marks the first step in a field that researchers claim could go on to change the world. Quantum computers are theoretically capable of doing work vastly quicker than the computers we use today, and could fundamentally alter our understanding of the capability of machines, The Independent reported.

IBM researchers have already criticized Google’s claims of a breakthrough, suggesting that the new discovery is not as profound as promised. But the new research has finally been published in the prestigious journal Nature, and lays out the workings of the long-rumored breakthrough.

The Google researchers state in the paper that their computer, known as Sycamore, is able to conduct a task in 200 seconds that would take around 10,000 years on a traditional system.

“This dramatic increase in speed compared to all known classical algorithms is an experimental realization of quantum supremacy for this specific computational task, heralding a much-anticipated computing paradigm,” the researchers write in the newly published paper.

The task used by Google researchers to test their system is largely useless for now, and its main function is to generate random numbers. But it is the first time that any task of this kind has ever been successfully demonstrated, and could very soon lead to more practical applications, the researchers claim.

“As a result of these developments, quantum computing is transitioning from a research topic to a technology that unlocks new computational capabilities,” the researchers conclude. “We are only one creative algorithm away from valuable near-term applications.”

The company now hopes to build a system that can conduct more broad operations, which could be used across a variety of different fields.

“Such a device promises a number of valuable applications,” the researchers wrote in a blog post. “For example, we can envision quantum computing helping to design new materials — lightweight batteries for cars and airplanes, new catalysts that can produce fertilizer more efficiently (a process that today produces over 2% of the world’s carbon emissions), and more effective medicines.

“Achieving the necessary computational capabilities will still require years of hard engineering and scientific work. But we see a path clearly now, and we’re eager to move ahead.”

Google’s breakthrough had been rumored since an early version of the paper was leaked online last month. But the publication of the research in Nature is the first time it has been publicly discussed, and anyone can read the researchers’ work.

It had already been criticized by IBM, who argued that the paper was fundamentally flawed because Google had drastically overestimated the difficulty of the task and how long it would take on a classical computer. The task would actually take around 2.5 days on a classical computer and would be completed better than it was with Google’s quantum computer, the firm argued in a blog post published two days before the Nature paper was made available.

The phrase “quantum supremacy” has also attracted criticism, both for its similarity to white supremacy and the fact it could encourage more hyped reporting on the status of quantum technology. Both of those arguments were addressed by John Preskill, the scientist who coined the phrase in 2012, in a recent article where he concluded that Google’s breakthrough is nonetheless very significant.

The post Google Claims Achieving ‘Quantum Supremacy’ appeared first on Iran News Daily.

The team of scientists was able to exchange several carefully managed photons in pulses of infrared light, carried between Russian GLONASS satellites and the Space Geodesy Centre on the ground run by the Italian Space Agency.

Getting these signals to pass through some 20,000 kilometres (12,427 miles) of air and space without any interference or data loss is no easy task – but the signs are promising that such a global network could indeed be functional, Science Alert reported.

“Space quantum communications (QC) represent a promising way to guarantee unconditional security for satellite-to-ground and inter-satellite optical links, by using quantum information protocols as quantum key distribution (QKD),” says one of the researchers, Giuseppe Vallone from the University of Padova in Italy.

The quantum key distribution or QKD method Vallone mentions refers to data encrypted using the power of quantum mechanics: thanks to the delicate nature of the technology, any interference is quickly detected, making QKD communications impossible to intercept.

In fact, hacking into a quantum mechanics message would cause it to self-destruct.

So far so good in theory, but keeping these secure channels open across long distances has proved tricky.

The key to the successful data exchange here was the use of passive retro-reflectors mounted on the satellites to keep the long-distance light signals intact, breaking the previous record distance for this type of quantum communication by an extra 15,000 kilometres (9,321 miles).

While satellites placed higher in orbit, like the GLONASS ones, are more difficult to communicate reliably with, they pass within sight of ground stations more regularly, potentially enabling an unhackable quantum networkthat can span the globe.

We’re only just getting started with this type of technology – not least because scientists are still trying to figure out if it can actually work – and for the moment it’s not clear exactly what a quantum internet would be used for or how it might be operated.

One idea is that it might become a specialised, very secure extension to the normal internet, used by a small selection of apps and devices.

What we do now know is that quantum communications are possible between the ground and high orbit satellites, extending the potential reach of the new technology.

That’s important as the satellite networks we rely on continue to get developed and upgraded.

“Satellite-based technologies enable a wide range of civil, scientific and military applications like communications, navigation and timing, remote sensing, meteorology, reconnaissance, search and rescue, space exploration and astronomy,” says Vallone.

“The core of these systems is to safely transmit information and data from orbiting satellites to ground stations on Earth. Protection of these channels from a malicious adversary is therefore crucial for both military and civilian operations.”

The post Quantum Internet on Global Scale Is Possible appeared first on Iran News Daily.