(S. Guraziu – Sky Division, 29 Oct, 2025)
Few days ago (October 23, 2025 – Physics 18, 173 – Time-Reversal Computation Offers Pathway to Practical Quantum Advantage) Susan Curtis said that Hartmut Neven (the lead researcher at Google Quantum AI in California) remains optimistic about real-world applications that are only possible on quantum computers, he claims such applications will emerge within the next five years.
Her article summarizes: a quantum algorithm that can simulate a temporal interference effect delivers a performance advantage that has the potential to benefit real-world applications.
Thus Physics magazine kinda verifies that Google’s quantum experts say that Willow quantum processor can show a verifiable quantum advantage.
Just as Hartmut Neven himself, on Google’s Keyword [ https://blog.google/technology/research/google-willow-quantum-chip/ ] says that Willow computes in 5 minutes what takes supercomputers 10 septillion years. Ten septillion years is an extremely large amount of time, specifically 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 years. This duration is far greater than the current age of the universe, which is about 13.8 billion years.
This achievement highlights Willow’s unparalleled processing capabilities and underscores its transformative potential in the fields of science, technology, and industry. For Willow is really fast, by many times faster than light, faster than thoughts… theoretically it’s 10 septillion years “faster” – Hartmut Neven too, he explains how “fast” is 10 septillion years : )
“Willow performed a computation in under five minutes that would take one of today’s fastest supercomputers 1025 or 10 septillion years. If you want to write it out, it’s 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 years. This mind-boggling number exceeds known timescales in physics and vastly exceeds the age of the universe. It lends credence to the notion that quantum computation occurs in many parallel universes, in line with the idea that we live in a multiverse, a prediction first made by David Deutsch. [ with “we live in a multiverse” Hartmut Neven refers to this book, by David Deutsch – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fabric_of_Reality ]
It’s still not even a year ago, in 2024 Google introduced Willow, its latest quantum chip, marking a significant milestone in computational technology.
[ Video – https://youtu.be/W7ppd_RY-UE Julian Kelly is Director of Hardware – Google Quantum AI – In this video, Director of Quantum Hardware Julian Kelly introducing Willow and its breakthrough achievements ]
Designed to address some of the most persistent challenges in quantum computing, Willow showcases groundbreaking achievements in error correction and processing speed, setting a new standard for what’s possible. Willow is the first quantum chip to demonstrate exponential error reduction as qubits scale, tackling one of the biggest hurdles in developing practical quantum systems. Quantum computers rely on qubits, which can exist in multiple states simultaneously, allowing them to solve complex problems far beyond the reach of classical systems. However, errors caused by environmental interference have historically hindered scalability. Willow’s advanced error correction mechanisms present a scalable solution, pushing us closer to realizing large-scale, reliable quantum systems.
Willow’s achievements in error correction and speed position it as a cornerstone in the future of computation. This quantum chip follows Google’s earlier milestone in quantum development achieved with the Sycamore processor in 2019. Developed at Google’s Quantum AI lab, Willow reflects years of effort focused on enhancing computational power and error correction – say experts.
(…some photos of the cryostat of the Willow quantum processor – Google has shown that an algorithm running on its Willow quantum processor can deliver a verifiable quantum advantage over classical computers)
