quantum_什么是量子计算？ Google的Quantum Supremacy索赔说明
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Quantum Supremacy. It kind of sounds like the title of the ruler of the universe. In reality, it could be part of Google's plan to take over the universe.
量子至上。 听起来像是宇宙统治者的头衔。 实际上，这可能是Google接管宇宙计划的一部分。
Google recently released a paper showing that its quantum processor, called Sycamore, solved a computing problem in 200 seconds that would have taken the world's best supercomputer 10,000 years to solve.
谷歌最近发表的一篇论文显示，其名为Sycamore的量子处理器可以在200秒内解决计算问题，而这将花费世界上最好的超级计算机10,000年才能解决。
And Google says this is just the beginning of what quantum computers will be able to do.
谷歌表示，这仅仅是量子计算机将要开展的工作的开始。
什么是量子计算？ (What is quantum computing?)
Quantum computing is a theory of how to build computers.
量子计算是有关如何构建计算机的理论。
Quantum computers perform operations on data using ideas from quantum mechanics, such as superposition and entanglement.
量子计算机使用来自量子力学的思想(例如叠加和纠缠)对数据执行操作。
In quantum computation, quantum properties are used to perform operations on data and represent it. This allows quantum computers to process massive and complex datasets more quickly than classical computers like the one you're reading this article with.
在量子计算中，量子特性用于对数据执行操作并表示数据。 与经典计算机(如您正在阅读本文的计算机)相比，这使量子计算机能够更快地处理大量和复杂的数据集。
比特VS比特 (Bits VS Qubits)
Classical computers store information in binary. It's always possible to know the exact state of a piece of data, or "bit."
古典计算机以二进制形式存储信息。 总是有可能知道一条数据或“位”的确切状态。
Each bit can be either on or off.
每个位可以打开或关闭。
Quantum computing, however, uses qubits instead of bits. Qubits can be either on or off. Or they can be on and off at the same time.
但是，量子计算使用量子位而不是位。 量子位可以打开或关闭。 也可以同时打开和关闭它们。
Quantum computation uses probabilities. You don't always know the exact state of the data. This uncertainty is what makes quantum computing so powerful.
量子计算使用概率。 您并不总是知道数据的确切状态。 这种不确定性使量子计算变得如此强大。
Since quantum computers use the fundamentals of quantum mechanics, they can solve complex computations very quickly. While quantum computers are already used for some purposes such as cybersecurity, they have not been able to do much so far.
由于量子计算机使用了量子力学的基础知识，因此它们可以非常快速地解决复杂的计算问题。 尽管量子计算机已经用于某些目的，例如网络安全，但到目前为止它们还不能做很多事情。
A lot of the ideas behind quantum computing are theoretical and it has been challenging to implement them on a large scale. However, this is starting to change.
量子计算背后的许多思想都是理论性的，要大规模实施它们一直是挑战。 但是，这种情况开始改变。
那么Google到底完成了什么？ (So what did Google actually accomplish?)
First of all, this is not necessarily the first sign that robots are about to enslave humanity. The computing problem solved with quantum computing was not actually that useful but it was something that a standard computer could not do in a reasonable period of time.
首先，这不一定是机器人即将奴役人类的第一个迹象。 用量子计算解决的计算问题实际上并没有那么有用，但是这是标准计算机在合理的时间内无法做到的。
This is the definition of "quantum supremacy": getting a quantum computer to do something that a standard classical computer cannot reasonably do.
这就是“量子至上性”的定义：让量子计算机执行标准经典计算机无法合理完成的工作。
This was basically the quantum computer equivalent to a "Hello World" program to test the capabilities. The Google researchers used their quantum computer to run a random circuit program a million times and record the outputs.
基本上，这是一台等效于“ Hello World”程序的量子计算机，用于测试这些功能。 Google研究人员使用他们的量子计算机运行了百万次随机电路程序并记录了输出。
The problem that Google solved with quantum computing was specifically designed to be very difficult for a classical computer to solve. The problem was to determine the likelihood of different possible outcomes from a quantum version of a random-number generator.
Google用量子计算解决的问题是专门为经典计算机解决的，它很难解决。 问题在于确定随机数生成器的量子形式产生不同可能结果的可能性。
Google controlled for errors in their system enough so the outputs were close to the theoretical results. This has been a hard problem to solve with quantum computers and made Google's achievement even more unique.
Google对其系统中的错误进行了足够的控制，因此输出结果接近理论结果。 这是量子计算机难以解决的问题，并使Google的成就更加独特。
IBM对Google的Quantum Supremacy表示：“真的吗？” (IBM on Google's Quantum Supremacy: "Really, though?")
Google competitor IBM wasn't so sure about Google's claims. According to IBM, Google overestimated the difficulty of the task.
Google的竞争对手IBM对Google的说法不太确定。 据IBM称，谷歌高估了这项任务的难度。
While Google said the problem they solved would take 10,000 years on a classical supercomputer, IBM said it could be solved in 2.5 days. That's a pretty big difference.
谷歌表示，他们用经典的超级计算机解决的问题将花费10,000年，而IBM表示可以在2.5天内解决。 那是一个很大的差异。
In a blog post, IBM "urge[d] the community to treat claims that, for the first time, a quantum computer did something that a classical computer cannot with a large dose of skepticism."
IBM在一篇博客文章中 “敦促社区对待这样的说法，即量子计算机第一次做了经典计算机无法接受的大量怀疑，而量子计算机却做了某些事情。”
Google representatives shot back at IBM with a challenge to prove their claim that the same problem their quantum computer had solved in 200 seconds could indeed be solved by a classical computer in 2.5 days.
Google代表向IBM发起挑战，以证明他们声称自己的量子计算机在200秒内解决的同一问题确实可以用传统计算机在2.5天之内解决的说法反击。
下一步是什么？ (What's Next?)
This is still only the beginning. As Google said in a blog post, "Achieving the necessary computational capabilities will still require years of hard engineering and scientific work. But we see a path clearly now, and we're eager to move ahead."
这仍然仅仅是开始。 正如Google在博客文章中所说的那样，“要获得必要的计算能力仍将需要数年的艰苦工程和科学工作。但是我们现在已经清楚地看到了一条道路，我们渴望前进。”
It's still difficult to correct for errors in quantum computing. Google's quantum team recently estimated that we still have at least 10 years before there is an error-corrected quantum computer.
校正量子计算中的错误仍然很困难。 Google的量子团队最近估计，距离纠错的量子计算机还有至少十年的时间。
In a recent interview, Google CEO Sundar Pichai compared their quantum computing breakthrough to the Wright brothers’ first flight. “To borrow an analogy — the Wright brothers. The first plane flew only for 12 seconds, and so there is no practical application of that. But it showed the possibility that a plane could fly.”
在最近的一次采访中 ，Google首席执行官Sundar Pichai将他们在量子计算方面的突破与莱特兄弟的首次飞行进行了比较。 “举个比喻-莱特兄弟。 第一架飞机只飞行了12秒钟，因此没有实际应用。 但这表明飞机有可能飞行。”
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