Nighthawk R2 Smashes Supercomputer in Quantum Experiment

IBM's quantum computer, Nighthawk r2, completed an experiment in just 19 seconds that researchers estimate could take a supercomputer over 110 years to finish.

The test used 61 of Nighthawk r2's 120 qubits and generated one million samples from a complex quantum circuit. The experiment focused on random circuit sampling, where the quantum computer was given a series of mostly random instructions that created an extremely complicated quantum state.

Researchers estimated that recreating the same probability pattern with a normal computer would require about 1.2 × 10²⁷ computer operations, which translates to more than 100 years of computing time on Frontier, a supercomputer.