BBC Focus - 03.2020

20 IDEAS FE ATURE

20.QUANTUMCOMPUTERSARE

THENEWSUPERCOMPUTER

Complexdata,likeweatherpatterns

orclimatechanges,willbecrunched

thoughinthefractionof thetime

Dreamsofexploitingthebizarrerealmofquantum

mechanicstocreatesuper-powerfulcomputershavebeen

aroundsincethe1980s.Butin 2019somethinghappened

thatmadelotsofpeoplesitupandtakequantum

computersseriously.Google’squantumcomputer,

Sycamore,solveda problemthatwouldtakeconventional

computersmuch,muchlonger.In doingso,Sycamorehad

achieved‘quantumsupremacy’forthefirsttime– doing

somethingbeyondconventionalcapabilities.

ThetaskSycamorecompleted,verifyingthata setof

numberswererandomlydistributed,tookit 200seconds.

Googleclaimsit wouldhavetakenIBM’sSummit,themost

powerfulconventionalsupercomputer,10,000years.IBM

begstodiffer,sayingit wouldonlytakeSummit2.5days.

Regardless,thislandmarkeventhasgiventhequantum

computerresearchcommunitya shotin thearm.A blog

postbySycamore’sdevelopers(bit.ly/quantum_

supremacy) givesa senseofthis.“Weseea pathclearly

now,andwe’reeagertomoveahead.”

Butdon’texpecttobeusinga quantumcomputerat

home.It’smorelikelytoberunningsimulationsin chemistry

andphysics,performingcomplextaskssuchasmodelling

interactionsbetweenmoleculesandin doingso,speeding

upthedevelopmentofnewdrugs,catalystsandmaterials.

In thelongerterm,quantumcomputerspromiserapid

advances in everything from weather forecasting to AI.

If allgoesaccordingto plan,inMay 2022 theEuropeanSpaceAgencywill

launchthefirstlarge-classmissionof itsCosmicVisionProgramme.The

JUpiterICymoonsExplorer(orJUICE)willslingshotaroundEarth,Venus

andMars,pickingupthespeedit needsto propelit outto Jupiter.

JUICEis expectedto arriveat thegasgiantin2029,where it will begin

possiblythemostdetailedstudyof theplanetto date.

“Therearetwogoals,”explainsDrGiuseppeSarri,theJUICEproject

manager.“Oneis to studyJupiterasa system.Jupiteris a gasgiantwith

over 70 moons,andforourunderstandingof theformationof theSolar

System,studying[whatamountsto]a minisolarsystemis scientifically

useful.We’llstudytheatmosphere,magnetosphereandsatellitesystem.

Thesecondgoalis to explorethethreeicymoons,Callisto,Ganymedeand

Europa.Becauseonthosemoonstherecouldbeconditionsthatcan

sustainlife,eitherinthepast,presentormaybeinthefuture.”

It’simportantto notethatJUICEwon’tbesearchingforsignsof lifeon

thesemoons,justtheappropriateconditionsto supportit.Inotherwords,

to confirmthepresenceof salty,liquidwaterbelowthesurfaceice.“It’sa

littlebitlikebelowAntarctica.Inthewaterbelowtheicetherearevery

primitiveformsof lifesoconditionscouldbesimilarto whatwehave

belowourpoles,”saysDrSarri.“Ifthere’sa chanceto havelifeinour

SolarSystem,EuropaandGanymedearetheplaces.UnfortunatelyJUICE

won’tbeableto seethelifebutit’lltakethefirststepinlookingforit.”

JUICEmayalsoshedlightonthemysteryof rings.“Itlooksasif allthe

giantplanetshaverings,”DrSarriexplains.“Inthepast,astronomers

onlysawSaturn’sringsbutthenringswerefoundat Uranus,Jupiterand

Neptune.Understandingthedynamic of rings will help us understand

the formation of these planets.”

THESEARCHFOREXTRA-

TERRESTRIAL LIFE

TheEuropeanSpaceAgency’smissiontoJupiter

anditsmoons,JUICE,couldbeourbest bet of

finding alien life in our Solar System

19

SAMSUNG, ALAMY, FOREST STEARNS/GOOGLE