Quantum computer (quantum computer) is a device that uses quantum logic to perform general computing. Unlike electronic computers, the object used by quantum computing to store data is qubits. It uses quantum algorithm to operate data. The birth of quantum mechanics has profoundly changed human society: the high-tech technologies such as nuclear energy, lasers, and semiconductors that promoted social development in the 20th century all originated from quantum mechanics. Then, does nature really operate according to the law of quantum theory ? One party represented by Einstein always believes that quantum mechanics is not a complete theory, "God cannot play dice", while the other party represented by Bohr , the leader of the Copenhagen school, firmly believes in the correctness of quantum theory.
In the past century of academic debate, the most influential ones are the so-called "Schrödinger Cat" paradox proposed by Schrödinger (1935) and the EPR paradox proposed by Einstein and others (1935). Schrödinger imagines that there is an radio source in a closed box, which emits a particle with a 1/2 chance in every second. In other words, according to the superposition principle of quantum mechanics, the system is in an equal probability superposition state of particle-free state and a particle state after one second. Once the particles are emitted, it will open the poison bottle through a clever transmission, which will cause a cat inside the box to die immediately after the poison gas is released. Of course, if there is no particle emission, none of this will happen, and the cat is still alive. Next, we will ask: Will the cat in the box die or live in one second? Since the radioactive particles are in the superposition state of zero and 1, then the cat should be in the superposition state of dead cat and living cat. This cat that seems to be alive and half-lived is the famous "Schrödinger Cat".
000 Boston Consulting Company previously released a data showing that quantum computers are expected to generate $850 billion in profits by 2050. Japanese website also pointed out in a report that the market value of quantum computers will be $1 trillion in the next 30 years. The following is the world's developed countries for quantum computers:
1. China (the fastest quantum computer in the world)
China has become the only country in the world that has reached the milestone of "quantum computing superiority" in two physical systems. On October 26, 2021, China's quantum computer research made another breakthrough, billions of times faster than supercomputers ("1 billions of times faster than supercomputers!")! Specifically, two quantum computers of the team of Academician Pan Jianwei of the University of Science and Technology of China have been upgraded, and both "Jiuzhang" and " Zuchong Zhizhi " have become No. 2.
It is worth mentioning that the University of Science and Technology of China once claimed that the team led by Pan Jianwei successfully built 76 photon quantum computing prototypes "Nine Chapters", which was launched as the fastest quantum computer in the world, and can be called the "new weapon of a great power" in my country in the field of quantum computing. And how fast is this quantum computer? It only takes 200 seconds to solve the Gaussian Bose sampling mathematical algorithm.
Many people may not know what kind of calculation difficulty is for the mathematical algorithm Gauss Bose sampling. If we use the world's fastest traditional supercomputer, Japan's "Fugao" supercomputer, to solve this problem, it will take 600 million years. The speed of 9 chapters of quantum computer is equivalent to 94.6 trillion times that of Japanese floating moon supercomputer, which means that its computing power on a single mathematical problem is equivalent to at least 10 billion times the total computing power of supercomputer in the world. Related papers about it have been published in the international academic journal Science.
It is worth mentioning that China's "Nine Chapters" quantum computer is a quantum computing prototype with 76 photons built by Pan Jianwei's team and Shanghai Institute of Microsystems of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and National Parallel Computer Engineering Technology Research Center . Developing such a computer requires solving three major technical problems: high-quality photon source, high-precision phase locking and large-scale interference, which is quite difficult.In the field of global quantum computers, it is now a competition between China and the United States. Google launched the "Sycamore" of 53 qubit quantum computers. Its ability in single mathematical computing is more than 860 times the peak of the fastest traditional supercomputer at that time, and has achieved a transcendence of traditional supercomputers.
Now the quantum computer computing power developed by the team of Chinese quantum scientist Pan Jianwei is equivalent to 10 billion times that of Symphony. Although my country is the second country in the world to achieve "quantum superiority (the computing power of quantum computers in some aspects surpasses traditional supercomputers)" for traditional computers, it has been significantly ahead compared to the US Google symphony quantum computers. Industry analysts believe that in the future, the world's quantum computer development field will enter the development situation of China and the United States.
It is worth mentioning that China has made huge technological breakthroughs in the field of quantum technology, even far more than a quantum computer. Moreover, quantum communication , quantum radar , quantum drones, including quantum chip , have all become China's latest achievements in this technology field. It can be said that Western countries has not yet understood the relevant technologies, but China has entered the practical stage. In addition, China's Baidu company previously released the "Qianshi" quantum computer and the world's first integrated solution for full-platform quantum computing software and hardware, "Liaoxi". Baidu has developed an industrial superconducting quantum computer integrating quantum hardware, software platforms, and quantum applications, and has created the world's first integrated solution for full-platform quantum software and hardware. This breakthrough also made Baidu the first company in China to realize quantum industry applications after IBM in the United States.
It is worth mentioning that in 2020, a team led by Pan Jianwei, a famous Chinese quantum scientist, and scholars from international scientific research institutions such as Oxford University achieved relay-free quantum confidential communication based on quantum entanglement between two ground base stations thousands of kilometers apart. These scientists also used the "Mozi" quantum communication experimental satellite as a source of quantum entanglement to distribute quantum keys for the first time in two places, thousands of kilometers apart in the world.
In order to seize the strategic high ground of quantum technology, China's "14th Five-Year Plan" and the outline of the 2035 vision goals also emphasize the need to accelerate the layout of cutting-edge technologies such as quantum computing and communication. However, it is not easy to implement industrial application of quantum technology, and the industry believes that it is no less difficult than landing on the moon.
Professor of Computer Department of Tsinghua University and scholar Yangtze once pointed out that China lacks one of the "two legs" (hardware and software) developed by quantum computers - quantum software, which will make China passive in the international competition for quantum computing for a long time.
KB, founder of the American Quantum Industry Alliance, said in describing China's investment in quantum computer research and development: "They have a quantum satellite, other countries do not; they have a communication network, other countries do not; they have a human development plan that can cultivate new quantum engineers in China."
KS media once said that before, although both supercomputers and quantum computers were both the United States and Europe, the rise of China was surprisingly fast. China is considering building the world's largest quantum research institute in Hefei, Anhui, with the investment of $10 billion. With the University of Science and Technology of China as the center, China includes research institutions such as Tsinghua University , Zhejiang University , Shenzhen Southern University of Science and Technology, Shanghai Jiaotong University , and enterprise research institutes such as Alibaba Quantum Computing Laboratory and Baidu Quantum Computing Research Institute. China is forming a strong synergy in the field of quantum research. UST Professor Pan Jianwei has successfully achieved long-distance transmission of quantum communication through the "Mozi" satellite. This is a scientific research result that shocked the United States, showing that China is already ahead of the United States in the field of quantum communications.
2. The United States (the world's first programmable general quantum computer was born in the United States)
The United States is one of the important powers of quantum computers. As early as November 15, 2009, the world's first programmable general-purpose quantum computer was officially born in the United States. On January 10, 2019, IBM announced the launch of the world's first commercially available integrated quantum computing system: IBM Q System One. It is worth mentioning that IBM can manipulate the qubit magnitude of the qubit magnitude that it can manipulate is significantly ahead of other countries, with a capacity of 50 qubits. In theory, if it exceeds 49 bits, it can surpass traditional computers in performance. It is worth mentioning that IBM in the United States said it will build a quantum computer with 1,000 qubits to improve the fault tolerance rate by 2023. From a national perspective, the United States finalized a national strategy with quantum computers as the core in 2018, and implemented the US National Quantum Initiative Act, which invested up to 1.3 billion yuan in five years. The reason why American quantum computers are progressing rapidly is that they have a clear layout and concentrated force in quantum computer hardware, software and even applications. It is worth mentioning that hardware is the foundation of computers, but software is the soul of computing science. If quantum computers need to be made, the software must also keep up.
Importantly, the perfect layout of US government and enterprises in the field of quantum computers has risen to the level of national behavior, which may be what other countries should learn from. Google previously claimed that they had developed the first quantum computer. It is worth mentioning that the traditional computer with the fastest computing before in the world was the American summit computer. How fast can its computing speed be? According to statistics, it can reach 2 billion times per second, and this level of floating point and computing level is incomparable to computers in all countries in the world.
It is worth mentioning that the research on quantum computers was previously centered on the field of theory and software. Since the progress in the generation of "qubits" of basic units, hardware research has also been officially launched around 2010. Through surveying research funds invested by countries in the past 10 years from 2009 to 2018, Asamuse found that the global total amount reached about US$8 billion. By country, the United States was US$1.060 billion, with the highest global investment amount.
Among the global quantum computer countries, if the number of applications for quantum computer-related patents is observed according to the applicant's country (the target period was 2001-2018), the United States reached 1,852, with the largest number, significantly surpassing other countries, along with China (1,354), which ranked second. Japan (590 pieces) ranked third, Canada (451 pieces) ranked fourth, and South Korea (151 pieces) ranked fifth. Judging from institutions with more patent applications, Canadian startup D-Wave Systems ranks first with 298 pieces. Next are American companies such as IBM (290 pieces) and Google (190 pieces).
book Bill Gates once believed that quantum computers could be used in cloud computing within 10 years; the Quantum Manifesto drafted by European scientists predicted that general-purpose quantum computers may be built before 2035. The answer given by authoritative scientific researchers is: it will be realized in 10 or 15 years. By then, replacing traditional PCs is no longer a dream.
3. Japan (the highest speed among the "dual qubit gates" of global quantum computers)
Japan is an important power of global supercomputers. For example, the supercomputer "Fugaku" developed by Japan successfully won the world's fastest computing speed championship in the annual rankings of the Fortune 500 projects in the United States and Europe. It is worth mentioning that this is the second time that the Japanese supercomputer "Fugaku" has ranked first in the world for the second time. As early as June 2020, "Fugaku" surpassed the supercomputer Summit developed by the US Oak Ridge National Laboratory . It is reported that Fugaku is named after Mount Fuji and can perform 442 million calculations per second, about three times faster than the US Summit.
Japan Telecom Telephone Company (NTTh) and University of Tokyo have announced that they have developed the core technology of optical quantum computer and plan to manufacture high-performance physical machines by 2030.The optical quantum computer being developed in Japan uses algorithms with high independence, which has made a leap in performance improvement. This new quantum computer is suitable for the field of communications and can operate at room temperature without cooling devices. It is expected to reduce the operating cost of to a level far lower than that of the current mainstream superconducting quantum computers.
The team of the Japanese Institute of Molecular Science once achieved the world's highest speed among the "dual qubit gates" of quantum computers, which is more than one times faster than the previous world record of Google , and is 6.5 nanosecond (nanosecond is one billionth of a second). The team of the Japanese Institute of Molecular Sciences once published research results in the scientific journal Nature Photonics, saying that it has greatly improved the speed of the arithmetic element "double qubit gate", which is a core of the "quantum computer" with performance far higher than that of the current computer.
According to Professor Kenji Omori, the research institute, the world's highest speed among double qubit gates has been achieved this time. If this method is used, it is expected to be shortened to 1 nanosecond in the future. Japan's Omori emphasized that "this is an epoch-making achievement that exceeds the boundaries so far."
It is worth mentioning that Japan's NECh achieved the first time in 1999 to generate qubits using superconducting elements in the world, contributing to the research progress in this global field.
Japan formulated a "quantum technology innovation strategy" as early as 2020. In order to avoid lagging behind the world trend, it launched a Japanese national project that proposed medium- and long-term goals. We will set up bases in major research institutions in four fields: quantum computers, quantum encryption communications, quantum sensing and quantum materials, and focus on investments. The Japanese government set the relevant budget for 2020 to about 34 billion yen, increasing it to twice that of 2019, but it still looks inferior to China and the United States.
Japan once announced the original plan for new national strategy for quantum technology. This includes completing the first construction of Japan's "domestic quantum computer" within this year, and establishing quantum technology research support bases in four places in Japan, including , Tohoku University, Japan, and other places in Japan. The digital goal of 10 million quantum technology users by 2030 was also proposed. In Japan's new strategy "Quantum Future Society Outlook" (tentatively stated), it is clearly stated that quantum technology is "the core key technology for future competition for hegemony among countries."
4. The UK (the birthplace of the world's "father of quantum computers")
UK attaches great importance to quantum information technology research, especially in the field of quantum information technology research. The UK has invested 270 million pounds to establish four R&D centers, namely the Quantum Communication R&D Center, the Quantum Sensing R&D Center, the Quantum Imaging R&D Center, and the Quantum Computing R&D Center; and has established a quantum technology research center composed of 17 universities and 132 companies. Later, the British government proposed to establish a quantum technology community in the government, industry and academic circles to concentrate on promoting the rapid development of quantum information technology innovation.
UK already has many powerful innovative quantum information-related companies, including Airbus , British Telecom, ColdQuanta, CQC, Riverlane, Rahko, PhaseCraft, GTN, Quantopticon, etc. Specifically, CQC mainly studies quantum software, quantum chemistry , and quantum network security; Riverlane mainly provides consulting services to industrial and government customers to solve high-value problems in the fields of machine learning and quantum chemistry; Rahko is one of the world's most advanced quantum machine learning companies; GTN mainly uses quantum machine learning technology to change drug discovery; Quantopticon mainly develops simulated quantum photonic devices for ultra-safe quantum communication and quantum computing.
UK is also constantly increasing the efforts to cultivate a large number of sub-information technology talents to optimize the quantum technology talent echelon, such as the doctoral training center invested by EPSRC, the doctoral degree program of DSTL, etc., to further build a diversified and networked talent team, and cultivate strong adaptability and creative strength engineers, scientific experts in physics and engineering, photonics and other fields. In addition, the UK is also working hard to establish a comprehensive quantum information technology standard and regulatory system to promote the development of quantum technology innovation and commercial application.
According to the UK government's plan, quantum computing is estimated to provide global economic opportunities of £4 billion by 2024. This figure will rise to more than £341 billion in the next few decades.
5. Germany (the first quantum computer in Europe was born in Germany)
Germany's goal is to become one of the best countries in the world to develop quantum computing and practical applications. It is worth mentioning that the first European quantum computer was unveiled in Stuttgart, Germany. This commercial quantum computer will also benefit the industry after it is put into use. Merkel once said that this is a "technological miracle". As a result, Germany has a "shiny business card" as a popular information technology. In her words, Germany has become one of the world leaders in the field of quantum.
According to Reuters , the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Education and Research said that Germany will invest about 2 billion euros (about 15.6 billion yuan) in the next four years to support the development of its first quantum computer and related technologies. Among them, by 2025, 1.1 billion euros will be spent to support the research and development of quantum computing, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs will spend 878 million euros to support the development of practical applications.
In order to catch up with the lack of quantum computer development, the federal and state governments spent 40 million euros to introduce Eningen's IBM system and plan to apply it in the fields of "new materials, new drugs and artificial intelligence . Not only that, 10 well-known German companies (such as BMW , Bosch , Infineon , Merck , Siemens , Volkswagen, etc.) announced the establishment of a new quantum technology and application alliance (QUTAC) , will be committed to promoting quantum computers in industrial applications such as chemistry and pharmaceuticals, insurance and automobiles, laying the foundation for Germany's "quantum industrialization".
6. Canada (the world's first computer with quantum advantages that can be provided to the public through the cloud)
Canada's Borealis was once the world's first computer with quantum advantages that can be provided to the public through the cloud. The Canadian Globe and Mail reported that in a paper published in the research journal Nature, the Canadian company described its name Borealis How quantum computers achieve "quantum advantage" - this term means that the results it provides are beyond the actual range of traditional computer systems.
Specifically, Nordic chemical provides a series of numbers with a specific range of probability within 36 parts per million seconds, which requires more than 9,000 years of matching. The photonic quantum computer developed in Canada, Borealis, has landed on Nature, and has even attracted widespread attention from the global technology circle. They claim that Borealis can solve the problem that traditional supercomputers take nine thousand years to solve in just 36 microseconds. The computing speed is higher than that of the current world-renowned supercomputers, and it has challenged China's Nine Chapter 2.0! There is no doubt that this company is Xanadu, founded in 2016. They are one of the few companies in the world that are currently fully developing photonic quantum computers, and are subject to IBM, Microsoft , Amazon , Nvidia and other international companies pay attention.
