英特尔向国家实验室运交付神秘量子设备

英特尔认为超越今天的CPU和GPU的下一步就是量子计算。英特尔本周在该领域领先一步交付了一台量子计算系统。

The chipmaker is sending quantum computing equipment to the US Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) where it will slot into a real-world quantum system being built at ANL.

芯片制造商英特尔为美国能源部的阿贡国家实验室（ANL）送上了量子计算设备，该量子计算设备将加入到阿贡国家实验室正在建造中的真实世界量子系统。

"The Intel piece will be the first major component installed in Argonne’s quantum foundry, which will serve as a factory for creating and testing new quantum materials and devices. It is expected to be completed this year," the national lab said.

阿贡国家实验室表示，“英特尔的量子计算设备将是安装在阿贡量子代工厂的第一个主要部件，阿贡量子代工厂将作为创造和测试新量子材料和设备的工厂，预计将在今年完成。”

And here's where things get interesting. It's not clear what the equipment is, exactly.

这个地方比较有趣的是，目前并不清楚这些设备到底是什么。

While we await deeper confirmation on what the quantum device is (and isn't) it's worth remembering Intel has manufactured samples of its 22nm quantum chips called Horse Ridge I and II. The chip uses mixed-signal integrated circuits to control qubits and generate readouts, with the ability to scale to more qubits.

我们在不妨等一等看看会不会得到有关这个量子设备是什么（或不是什么）的信息，但我们也知道英特尔已经制造出了旗下的 22纳米量子芯片的样品，名为称为Horse Ridge I和II。Horse Ridge I和II芯片使用混合信号集成电路达到控制量子比特及产生量子比特数，并可以扩展到更多量子比特。

Intel and ANL couldn't provide details about the specific quantum equipment at the time of publishing.

截至本文发稿时，英特尔和ANL都没能提供有关具体量子设备的细节。

Dozens of companies are building quantum systems that range from realistic to straight out of science fiction. D-Wave's quantum annealing system is already being used for specific applications, while systems from IBM and Google require cooling to a fraction of the temperature of deep-space. PsiQuantum's building a mega-quantum computer the size of a data center. Microsoft is chasing a quantum computer based on a particle that hasn't been proven yet to exist.

目前有数十家公司正在建造量子系统，各种各样的量子系统都有，从比较现实的到只出现在科幻小说里的。D-Wave的量子退火系统已经可以用于特定的应用，而IBM和谷歌的系统则需要冷却到接近深空温度。PsiQuantum正在建造的巨型量子计算机的大小达到数据中心级别。微软追捧的量子计算机基于尚未被证实存在的粒子。

Intel believes its qubit approach is the best as the quantum hardware can be manufactured in its existing factories. Quantum competitors, such as Rigetti, are also touting quantum systems that don't require any special manufacturing equipment, as compared to quantum systems makers such as annealing-device maker D-Wave, for instance, which requires specialized fabrication and production plants to produce machines.

英特尔认为自己的量子方法是最好的，其量子硬件可以在旗下现有的工厂里制造。诸如Rigetti的量子竞争对手也宣称拥有不需要任何特殊制造设备的量子系统，而相比之下，诸如退火设备制造商D-Wave等量子系统制造商生产量子机器则需要专门的制造和生产工厂。

The ANL quantum system is part of private-public collaborative effort called Q-NEXT to boost quantum computing and communication in the US. Beyond testing applications, the system will also help test new quantum materials and devices.

ANL的量子系统是名为Q-NEXT，属于一个公私合作，旨在促进美国的量子计算和通信。Q-NEXT系统除了用于测试应用还将帮助测试新的量子材料和设备。

### Could Intel help the US national labs maintain an edge?

英特尔能否帮助美国国家实验室ANL保持优势？

Compared to China, the US has been slow in making quantum computing a priority. Researchers have complained Uncle Sam hasn't done enough to facilitate collaboration and bridge the gap between educators, developers, and scientists involved in algorithms and developing hardware.

美国在将量子计算作为优先事项方面与中国相比一直进展缓慢。研究人员颇有微言，他们称山姆大叔在促进合作以及帮助那些参与算法和开发硬件的教育工作者、开发人员和科学家之间沟通方面做得还不够。

Also, activity around the National Quantum Initiative Act (NQI), which was signed into law in 2018 to supercharge quantum computing development and research, has stalled. But there's a lot of investment dollars flowing in from venture capital and the government to advance quantum computers and fundamental science in the US, Carl Dukatz, quantum program lead at Accenture, told _The Register_.

另外，有关国家量子倡议法案（NQI）的活动也限于停顿，NQI法案在2018年签署成为法律，旨在加速推动量子计算的开发和研究。Accenture的量子项目负责人Carl Dukatz告诉记者，但大量的投资资金从风险资本和政府涌向该领域，达到推动美国量子计算机和基础科学发展的目的。

Rigetti last year went public through a .5bn SPAC megadeal, and quantum computing startups raked in another bn in venture funding, according to data from PitchBook.

根据PitchBook的数据，Rigetti曾以15亿美元的SPAC巨额资金上市，而其他量子计算初创公司也获得了10亿美元的风险投资。

D-Wave earlier this year announced it would go public through a .2bn merger with a SPAC.

D-Wave今年早些时候曾宣布通过与SPAC的12亿美元合并交易上市。

Companies developing quantum systems are adding abstraction layers that make these systems accessible to larger audiences to explore and test, Dukatz said.

Dukatz表示，开发量子系统的公司在这些系统上增加了抽象层使得更多的人可以使用、探索和测试这些系统。

"I think of it similar to the way AI or machine learning or big data systems evolved. For a time you had Hadoop and you needed people who understood data science and could write MapReduce code. Then eventually a set of services on top of Hadoop made it more accessible to people who could write SQL, and that abstraction made it more viable for businesses," Dukatz said.

Dukatz表示，“我认为其发展方式类似于人工智能或机器学习或大数据系统的发展方式。曾有一段时间要用Hadoop，然后就需要了解数据科学并能编写MapReduce代码的人。后来加在Hadoop上层的一套服务使得会写SQL的人也可以使用Hadoop，这样的抽象化后就可以在企业使用了。”。

This abstraction should be arriving for quantum computing. That's handy because, for one thing, the type of interest shown by businesses to qubit computers also really depends on who is asking the questions: if it's the science and research department, those people want to get their hands on exactly how the equipment works. If it's the corporate side, they want to know how the computer can be used. Having abstractions available to run workloads on quantum computing systems is essential to the latter group, and the technology's wider success.

量子计算的这种抽象化应该要到来了。抽象化后就方便了，原因在于，首先，企业对量子计算机表现出的兴趣类型也确实取决于对象是谁，如果是科学和研究部门，这些人希望着手使用然后确切知道设备是如何工作的。如果是企业方面，他们想知道如何使用量子计算机。量子计算系统工作负载运行的抽象对于后一类人以及量子计算的广泛成功至关重要。

"If [queries are] coming from IT or the business itself, then it may be more outcome driven," Accenture's Dukatz said. "If it's coming from the chemistry side or the fundamental research side of a business, then they may be looking more in depth.

Accenture的Dukatz表示，“如果是来自IT或企业本身的查询，那么就可能更多的是结果驱动。如果是来自企业的化学方面或基础研究方面的查询，那么就可能更深入一些。”

"If it is a R&D department talking to us, they want to know the physics behind how the device works in addition to which device to use. They want to understand the science behind it, whereas other companies may say that they're really only interested in the outcome." ®

Dukatz表示，“如果是研发部门与我们谈，他们除了想知道使用哪种设备外，还会想知道设备工作背后的物理原理。他们想了解底层的科学，而其他公司可能会说他们真的只对结果感兴趣。”