It’s one quantum leap for mankind.
Parallel dimensions are no longer restricted to Marvel flicks. Google’s cutting-edge quantum chip Willow has prompted discussions among scientists about the possibility that we may indeed be living in a multiverse, per a study published in the journal “Nature.”
Google physicists floated this theory after the hardware took just five minutes to solve a computational problem so complex it would have taken today’s most advanced super-computers approximately 10 septillion years to crack — more than the age of the universe, per a post on the Google blog.
“It lends credence to the notion that quantum computation occurs in many parallel universes, in line with the idea that we live in a multiverse,” declared the founder of the Google Quantum AI team, physicist Hartmut Neven.
Parallel universes and quantum computing have been connected before, first by British physicist David Deutsch. However, this marked the first time that a major tech executive literally dubbed their achievement out of this world, er universe, Newsweek reported.
Unlike traditional computers that employ 0s and 1s, quantum computers rely on infinitely smaller bits called qubits, TechCrunch reported.
These process info at much higher speeds, potentially allowing them to solve complex problems that are beyond the capabilities of traditional computation machines.
Along with being faster, Neven claims that Willow is also less error-prone than other quantum computers because they’ve paradoxically found a way to reduce the likelihood of glitches by adding more qubits.
Traditionally, increasing this number was associated with increasing the probability of errors.
Astrophysicist turned science writer Ethan Siegel claimed that the success of quantum computers doesn’t necessarily prove the existence of a multiverse, the Daily Mail reported.
“You can have quantum mechanics work just fine, both physically and mathematically, without introducing even one parallel universe,” Siegel wrote in his essay for Big Think.
Regardless, experts believe that Willow’s capabilities are astonishing.
Professor Winfried Hensinger, director of the Sussex Centre for Quantum Technologies, deemed Willow’s achievement a “very important milestone” in the field of quantum computers.
“This result increases our confidence further that humanity will be able to build practical quantum computers enabling some of the highly impactful applications quantum computers are known for,” he said.
Google believes Quantum computing has “promising applications” in various fields from discovering new drugs to cybersecurity.