A new era of computing may be upon us as Google claims its Sycamore computer has achieved quantum supremacy (量子霸权). But what is quantum supremacy, and what does it mean for the future?

Quantum supremacy is a scientific term. It means that a quantum computer has solved a problem that a classical computer would take too much time and energy to do.

【小题1】 (publish) in the journal Nature on Oct 23, Google tasked a computer with finding mathematical probabilities of different “events”. The events were specific values from a random number generator. Sycamore successfully picked out strings (系列) of numbers that were 【小题2】 (likely) to occur than others, running the test 1 million times in 200 seconds.

In their research, Google claims that the world’s best supercomputer would have taken 10,000 years 【小题3】(solve) the same problem. However, Google’s claims were questioned by rival company IBM, who argued the same test 【小题4】 have been completed in 2.5 days by its Summit supercomputer.

What is quantum computing? The major difference between quantum and classic computers is in how they record and transmit information. Classic computers, from your laptop to your phone to a NASA supercomputer, use bits. Each bit has a state of either zero or one (on or off) and completes each operation one-at-a-time.

However, quantum computers, like Google’s Sycamore, use quantum bits – called qubits (量子位). These can be both zero and one at the same time, allowing them to hold more data and work together to solve problems simultaneously.

Google’s experiment has been applauded 【小题5】 a major breakthrough. It is a stepping-stone toward a big dream.

Currently, quantum computers are within the next decade. Tech reporter Jacob Ward told NBC News, “This could revolutionize our every little real-world value, but that can all change whole lives. We’re talking about the development of new medicines, materials, artificial intelligence, all of which, right now, 【小题6】 (depend) on a very limited language of computing.?”

While quantum may not be close to 【小题7】 (change) our everyday lives right now, it has been compared to the first rocket to reach space. It may be a generation 【小题8】 quantum computers become mainstream, so who can say what humans might achieve with the new technology?

Traditional Chinese culture has become increasingly popular among youths, who are taking greater interest in historical and cultural sites and relics 【小题1】Museum(the Forbidden City), the Sanxingdui cultural artifacts(second millennium BC objects found at the Sanxingdui archaeological site in Sichuan province)and the representation of Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes through virtual reality.

Guochao, meaning “national trend”, is a manifestation(表现)of culture 【小题2】(distinguish) by a combination of Chinese cultural elements and modernity. It is related to the development and sale of cultural products and promotion of the cultural industry. Surprisingly, this trend 【小题3】(fuel) by the younger generation’s interest in traditional Chinese culture.

As symbols of Chinese tradition, the priceless antiques and magnificent paintings in the Palace Museum, and the awe-inspiring caves, ethereal(空灵的；优雅的；超凡的)murals(壁画)and amazing statues 【小题4】make up the Mogao Grottoes have attracted visitors from around the world.

However, sometimes tourism and the endless stream of visitors do more harm than good to historical and cultural sites 【小题5】their fragile environs(周围环境)and invaluable but delicate treasures they are a repository of.

With advanced technology 【小题6】(make) its way to more and more museums, the authorities are taking innovative measures to preserve the historical and cultural treasures displayed there. For example, many museums are using digital technology to attract more visitors.

This has prompted 【小题7】increasing number of people, especially youths, to learn more about traditional Chinese culture. In particular, digital technology—along with virtual reality, and high-definition videos and photographs—is being used 【小题8】(offer) tourists a virtual tour of the murals, caves and statues of the Mogao Grottoes.

Many used to believe 【小题9】digital technology imperils traditional cultural expression. But the fact is, digital technology allows people access 【小题10】information and visuals without having to take the “trouble” of visiting the real site. Through data transportation, it facilitates effortless reproduction of the original without any loss of quality. No wonder digital technology is regarded as the epitome of creativity.

Quantum computer chips demonstrated at the highest temperatures ever

Quantum computing is heating up. For the first time, quantum computer chips 【小题1】 (operate) at a temperature above -272℃, or 1 kelvin. That may still seem frigid, but it is just warm enough to potentially enable a huge leap in the capabilities.

Quantum computers are made of quantum bits, or qubits(量子比特), 【小题2】 can be made in several different ways. One that 【小题3】 (receive) attention from some of the field’s big players consists of electrons on a silicon chip.

These systems only function at extremely low temperatures-below 100 millikelvin, or -273.05℃ -so the qubits have to be stored in powerful refrigerators. The electronics that power them won’t run at such low temperatures, and also emit heat that could disrupt the qubits, so 【小题4】 are generally stored outside the refrigerators with each qubit is connected by a wire to its electronic controller.

“Eventually, for useful quantum computing, we will need to go to something like a million qubits, and this sort of brute force method, with one wire per qubit, won’t work any more,” says Menno Veldhorst at QuTech in the Netherlands. “It works for two qubits, but not for a million.”

Veldhorst and his colleagues, 【小题5】 another team led by researchers at the University of New South Wales in Australia, have how demonstrated that these qubits can be operated at 【小题6】 (high) temperatures. The latter team showed they were able to control the state of two qubits on a chip at temperatures up to 1.5 kelvin, and Veldhorst’s group used two qubits at 1.1 kelvin in 【小题7】 is called a logic gate, which performs the basic operations that make up more complex calculations.

【小题8】 we know the qubits themselves can function at higher temperatures, the next step is incorporating the electronics onto the same chip. “I hope that 【小题9】 we have that circuit, it won’t be too hard to scale to something with practical applications,” says Veldhorst.

Those quantum circuits will be similar in many ways to the circuits we use of traditional computers, so they can be scaled up relatively easily 【小题10】 (compare) with other kinds of quantum computers, he says.