Quantum Computing Company D-Wave "Magnetic Material Experiment... Achieves 'Quantum Supremacy'"

"Task That Would Take a Million Years
Completed in Just 20 Minutes"

Quantum computing company D-Wave announced that it has achieved 'quantum advantage,' enabling quantum computers to solve problems that traditional computers cannot solve within a realistic timeframe.

D-Wave Quantum Computer. Screenshot from D-Wave homepage

According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 12th (local time), D-Wave explained in a paper published in the scientific journal Science that it used its quantum computer to simulate magnetic materials, which is impossible with traditional computers.

D-Wave's quantum computer accurately calculated and predicted the characteristics of certain magnetic materials, such as how they respond. D-Wave emphasized that it completed the simulation of magnetic materials within 20 minutes, a task that would take about one million years on a supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, USA.

Andrew King, D-Wave's Chief Scientist, said, "We need to understand how magnetic materials respond to environmental changes and why, in order to discover and design related technologies." Alan Baratz, CEO of D-Wave, also stated, "In a sense, this is the holy grail of quantum computing," adding, "This is important for the production of magnetic materials used in devices such as sensors, smartphones, motors, and medical imaging equipment."

Unlike most quantum computers that adopt the 'quantum gate' method, which performs calculations step-by-step like turning electromagnetic switches on and off, D-Wave uses the 'quantum annealing' method. Quantum annealing specializes in solving optimization problems by testing multiple possibilities simultaneously and quickly finding the best solution.

However, WSJ reported that D-Wave's announcement is also controversial, similar to when Google announced quantum advantage in 2019. At that time, Google declared it had achieved the world's first quantum advantage by announcing that its quantum computer 'Sycamore' completed a calculation in 200 seconds that would take 10,000 years on a traditional computer. However, IBM refuted Google's claim, arguing that its supercomputer could solve the same problem in 2 to 3 days, not 10,000 years, sparking controversy.

WSJ also reported that some scientists are rebutting D-Wave's claims, arguing that similar results can be obtained using traditional computers.