A quantum computer performed 2.6 billion years of computation in just 4 minutes.

In that short time, it solved a problem that is far too complicated for even the largest classical supercomputer.

This breakthrough was achieved by researchers in China using their 76-qubit photon-based quantum computer prototype named Jiuzhang. 

The machine, made of lasers, mirrors, prisms and photon detectors, uses a technique called Gaussian boson sampling, which involves counting detected photons. With the ability to count 76 photons, Jiuzhang broke the 5 photon record of classical supercomputers. 

This is not just a theoretical proof, as Gaussian boson sampling could have practical applications in solving problems in quantum chemistry and math, and contribute to the development of large-scale quantum internet. 

Both quantum and classical computers try to solve problems, but the way they process data to get answers is completely different. The principles of quantum mechanics, such as superposition and entanglement, ar…