--- title: "China Claims Quantum Supremacy" description: "A team of researchers from University of Science and Technology of China have just claimed quantum supremacy using a photon-based quantum computer." date: "2020-12-03" modified: "2020-12-03" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/china-claims-quantum-supremacy" categories: - "Physics" - "Quantum Physics" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "china" - "quantum computer" - "quantum computing" - "quantum supremacy" - "supercomputer" - "the digest" --- # China Claims Quantum Supremacy ![A team of researchers from University of Science and Technology of China have just claimed quantum supremacy using a photon-based quantum computer.]() *\Image: Xiaogang Qiang/University of Bristol\* ## Quantum Supremacy 2.0 A team of researchers from University of Science and Technology of China have just claimed quantum supremacy, [*Wired* reports]() — meaning their quantum computer completed a task that would take a conventional computer tens of thousands of years. Google became the first to [claim quantum supremacy]() in October 2019 with its Sycamore quantum computer completing a random number generation-related calculation in just 200 seconds — a task that would have taken the world’s most powerful supercomputer 10,000 years, according to the tech giant. ## Crunching Numbers Using Light Now, as detailed in [its paper]() published in the journal *Science*, the Chinese team says its system, called Jiuzhang, completed a task in three minutes that would've taken a powerful supercomputer two billion years, according to *Wired*. But there are some striking differences between the two quantum systems. Google's Sycamore processor uses quantum circuits that include superconducting metals that need to be cryogenically supercooled to extremely low temperatures, fractions of a degree above absolute zero. ## Limited Flexibility The Chinese team's processor instead manipulates individual photons and doesn't require supercooling. That introduces limitations: its task was baked into its very circuitry, meaning that it was designed from the ground up to make this particular calculation. Quantum computing is still very much in its infancy — engineers have yet to even devise a practical use. They are also infamously unstable and fragile. Still, the fact that they're starting to grapple with problems beyond the capabilities of conventional computers — and with radically different architectures — is promising. **READ MORE:** [China Stakes Its Claim to Quantum Supremacy]() \[*Wired*\] **More on quantum supremacy:** *[Here's Why Quantum Supremacy Matters]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()