12-4-20 Chinese scientists announced the construction of 76 photons (quantum bits) of quantum computing prototype “Jiuzhang九章”. In terms of speed, the speed of solving the mathematical algorithm Gaussian boson sampling is only 200 seconds, while the current supercomputer will take 600 million years. It is generally accepted that 50 quantum bits is the critical threshold to prove that a quantum computer has the potential to surpass traditional computers. The “九章” is named after a well-known mathematical treatise 九章算术 from ancient China.
The speed is 10 billion times faster than the 53 superconducting bits of quantum computing prototype released by Google last year. This achievement enables China to successfully reach the first milestone in quantum computing research: the superiority of quantum computing (also known abroad as “quantum supremacy”).
