Since the 1940s, when the first computer was developed, computing technology has made considerable strides. Currently, the two most cutting-edge computing technologies are quantum computers and supercomputers. Both are designed to perform complex calculations and deal with problems that are outside the scope of traditional computers. However, there are some important distinctions between the two, and comprehension of these distinctions is crucial to comprehending the struggle for supremacy in computing.
Supercomputers
A supercomputer is any of a class of extraordinarily powerful computers. A supercomputer outperforms a general-purpose computer. The performance of a supercomputer is measured in floating-point operations per second (FLOPS) rather than million instructions per second (MIPS).
‘Fugaku’, Japan's fastest supercomputer, contains more than 7 million cores and can execute 442 quadrillion computations per second.
Major physical restrictions to supercomputers
Quantum Computers – The upcoming ‘Rival’
Quantum computers are an entirely new type of computing technology. Instead of ordinary bits (1s and 0s), quantum computers use quantum bits, or qubits. Because qubits can exist in multiple states at once, quantum computers can perform multiple calculations concurrently.
Quantum computers, while still in its early phases, have the potential to dramatically alter computing as we know it. They could help with tasks like cracking encryption codes and simulating complex chemical reactions, which are currently beyond the capabilities of traditional computing.
Quantum computing v/s Supercomputers
“So how do quantum computers stack up against supercomputers?” The answer isn't evident. While quantum computers may outperform supercomputers in some areas, they are not always more efficient.
Supercomputers, for example, are now better adapted to problems requiring a large amount of processing capacity, such as weather modelling or modelling sophisticated fluid dynamics. Quantum computers, on the other hand, are more adept at problem solving.
Extreme computational capability is required for tasks such as weather modelling and modelling complicated fluid dynamics. Quantum computers, on the other hand, are better suited to problems that need sophisticated computations with several variables, such as “optimising supply networks or financial portfolios”.
Quantum computers have the benefit of addressing these problems substantially quicker than traditional computers. In fact, a quantum computer with a few hundred qubits may perform some jobs quicker than the world's fastest supercomputer.
Quantum computers must first overcome a number of challenges before they can be used as a practical computing tool. One of the most difficult challenges is qubit stability. Because of their acute awareness of their environment,
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What are Qubits?
A qubit (short for quantum bit) is the fundamental unit of information in quantum computing and its classical equivalent, the bit (binary digit). In terms of storing information, a qubit is comparable to a bit, but it operates quite differently due to the quantum qualities on which it is built.
A quantum computer can employ a variety of elemental particles such as electrons or photons (ions have also proven successful), with either their charge or polarization functioning as a representation of 0 and/or 1.
Assume the energy pulse delivered to the electron is one unit. What if the pulse only contains half a unit of energy? The particle enters a state of superposition, acting as if it were in both the spin-up and spin-down states at the same time, according to quantum law. The electron resides in a state of probability that may be expressed numerically by fractions between 0 and 1. This is how it will remain until noticed and measured.
A quantum computer may be in numerous states at the same time because to the superposition characteristic. As the number of qubits grows, so does the number of potential states. The number of potential states is 2n, where n is the number of qubits.
Recent Developments
1.Sycamore, a quantum computer developed by Google, was announced to have achieved quantum supremacy in 2019 after completing a calculation that would have taken even the fastest supercomputers thousands of years to complete.
2.The 1,121-qubit quantum computer will be built by the end of 2023, according to IBM's next-generation quantum roadmap, which was presented in March 2022.
3.Topological qubits are a new sort of qubit that Microsoft is researching because they are expected to be more reliable and error-free than previous types of qubits.
4.The trapped ions used by IonQ: IonQ, a quantum computing start-up, has created a quantum computer based on trapped ions, which are expected to be more stable than other kinds of qubits.
5.Amazon's Braket: In 2020, Amazon Web Services introduced Braket, a service for cloud-based quantum computing. Braket enables scientists and programmers to execute quantum algorithms on a variety of quantum hardware platforms.
Conclusion
To summarize, there is still a war for computer supremacy. Although supercomputers are currently the most effective technology for some problems, quantum computers have the potential to completely revolutionize computing. Despite the fact that quantum computing is still in its early stages, academics and technology businesses are significantly investing in its advancement, and it won't be long until it becomes a viable technology.
Supercomputers and quantum computers will most likely join in the future of computing to answer the most difficult problems. The healthy rivalry between these two technologies will eventually drive innovation and development in the computer industry.
