00:00Google's quantum computer realized in 5 minutes a task that would have taken our fastest supercomputer 17 trillion years.
00:06But how is this possible?
00:07Our classical computers work with bits, units of information representing a binary state that can be either 0 or 1.
00:13For example, to decrypt a 10-character password, a classical computer must try all possible combinations one by one,
00:18which could take years or even millions of years.
00:20But a quantum computer can simultaneously test all possible combinations thanks to qubits,
00:25which, unlike classical bits, can be in a state of 1, 0 or both at the same time
00:29thanks to a phenomenon called superposition.
00:31This is possible because researchers use individual atoms,
00:33cooled to temperatures close to zero, colder than space.
00:36At these temperatures, the atoms behave according to the laws of quantum mechanics,
00:39where the classical rules of physics no longer apply.
00:41The problem is that maintaining this quantum state is extremely difficult
00:45because qubits are very sensitive to their environment.
00:47The slightest noise, heat or vibration can destabilize them and make them lose their special state.
00:51This is called decoherence, and it is one of the major challenges to make quantum computers work reliably.
00:56Currently, the best quantum computers have about 100 qubits,
00:58and what is interesting is that with only 300 qubits,
01:01a quantum computer could simultaneously perform more calculations than there are atoms in the universe.
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