“A classical computation is like a solo voice—one line of pure tones succeeding each other. A quantum computation is like a symphony—many lines of tones interfering with one another.”*…
Quantum computers will never fully replace “classical” ones like the device you’re reading this article on. They won’t run web browsers, help with your taxes, or stream the latest video from Netflix.
What they will do—what’s long been hoped for, at least—will be to offer a fundamentally different way of performing certain calculations. They’ll be able to solve problems that would take a fast classical computer billions of years to perform. They’ll enable the simulation of complex quantum systems such as biological molecules, or offer a way to factor incredibly large numbers, thereby breaking long-standing forms of encryption.
The threshold where quantum computers cross from being interesting research projects to doing things that no classical computer can do is called “quantum supremacy.” Many people believe that Google’s quantum computing project will achieve it later this year…
Researchers are getting close to building a quantum computer that can perform tasks a classical computer can’t. Here’s what the milestone will mean: “Quantum Supremacy Is Coming: Here’s What You Should Know.”
* Programming the Universe: A Quantum Computer Scientist Takes on the Cosmos
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As we get weird, we might recall that it was on this date in 2012 that Ohioan Beth Johnson attempted to break a record that has been set in on this same date 1999 by a group of English college students– for the largest working yoyo in the world. The British yoyo was 10 feet in diameter; hers, 11 feet, 9 inches. (It weighed 4,620 lbs.) Her attempt on this date failed, as did another. But finally, in September, 2012, she was able successfully to deploy it from a crane in Cincinnati… and earn her way into the Guinness Book of World Records
Beth Johnson and her record-setting creation
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