IBM Switched On Its Most Powerful Quantum Computer in Chicago
IBM 把最强的量子机搬进了芝加哥
The Nighthawk chip resets each qubit independently, letting the system run more than 100,000 circuits a second. What it cannot yet show is commercial value.
IBM has switched on a Quantum System Two at a laboratory in Chicago's Hyde Park, in a partnership with the University of Chicago, the state of Illinois and the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park. It is the company's first quantum computer in the state and its most advanced to date.
The core is a chip called Nighthawk, the second generation of a superconducting processor line IBM introduced in 2025. The claim attached to it is a combination rather than a single figure: the highest circuit complexity, connectivity and operating speed the company has built.
The design change that makes those numbers usable is an independent, fast reset for each qubit. Because qubits return to their starting state individually rather than waiting for a whole register, the system can execute more than 100,000 circuits per second. For researchers that is throughput — more experiments per day, and more chances for a rare result to show up.
The machine is hosted by the University of Chicago for now and will move into the microelectronics park as it is built, becoming the main platform of the National Quantum Algorithm Center. The state established that centre in 2024 with IBM as its principal partner, aiming to put universities, national laboratories, startups and industry on the same hardware.
The intended workloads are the familiar hard ones: drug discovery, grid optimisation, materials simulation, high-energy physics. IBM also points to an earlier result from its joint team with the university, which used 70 logical qubits to complete a structured computation in about 15 minutes, as evidence the approach can outperform classical simulation on some problems.
What the announcement does not include is a demonstration that any of this is commercially useful yet. The framing from IBM's Arvind Krishna and Illinois governor JB Pritzker is about giving researchers a tool and the state a position in the field — which is a fair description of where quantum computing currently sits.
中文翻译（全文）
IBM 在芝加哥海德公园的一座实验室里启用了一台 Quantum System Two——合作方包括芝加哥大学、伊利诺伊州政府和伊利诺伊量子与微电子园。这是该公司在该州部署的首台量子计算机，也是其目前最先进的系统。
核心是一块名为 Nighthawk 的芯片，属于 IBM 在 2025 年推出的超导处理器系列的第二代。围绕它的说法是一组指标的叠加，而非单一数字：公司迄今最高的电路复杂度、连接性与运行速度。
让这些数字变得可用的设计改动，是每个量子比特都能独立、快速地复位。由于量子比特可以逐个回到初始状态、无需等整个寄存器，系统每秒能执行超过 10 万次电路。对研究者而言这意味着吞吐量——每天能做更多实验，稀有结果出现的概率也更高。
该系统目前由芝加哥大学托管，待微电子园建成后将迁入，成为国家量子算法中心的主要平台。该中心由州政府于 2024 年设立、IBM 为主要合作方，目标是把高校、国家实验室、初创公司和产业界放到同一套硬件上。
目标负载是那些熟悉的老难题：药物研发、电网优化、材料模拟、高能物理。IBM 还提到其与芝大联合团队此前的一项结果——用 70 个逻辑量子比特在约 15 分钟内完成一项结构化计算——作为该方法在某些问题上能超越经典模拟的证据。
这份公告里没有的，是证明其中任何一项已经具备商业用途。IBM 董事长阿尔温德·克里希纳与伊利诺伊州州长 JB·普利兹克的表述，说的是给研究者一件工具、给该州一个位置——这其实是对量子计算现状的准确描述。
重点词汇
- superconducting/ˌsuːpəkənˈdʌktɪŋ/adj.— conducting electricity with no resistance at very low temperature超导的It is a superconducting processor.
- qubit/ˈkjuːbɪt/n.— the basic unit of quantum information量子比特Each qubit resets independently.
- circuit/ˈsɜːkɪt/n.— a sequence of quantum operations（量子）电路It runs 100,000 circuits per second.
- throughput/ˈθruːpʊt/n.— how much work is completed in a given time吞吐量For researchers that is throughput.
- register/ˈredʒɪstə/n.— a set of bits handled together寄存器It no longer waits for a whole register.
- logical qubit/ˈlɒdʒɪkl ˈkjuːbɪt/n.— a qubit made error-resistant by combining several physical ones逻辑量子比特They used 70 logical qubits.
- simulation/ˌsɪmjuˈleɪʃn/n.— modelling a system on a computer模拟It can outperform classical simulation.
- host/həʊst/v.— to provide the place for something to operate托管；承办The university hosts the machine.
- commercially useful/kəˈmɜːʃəli ˈjuːsfl/phrase— valuable enough to be sold or used in business具备商业用途It has not shown commercial value yet.
- milestone/ˈmaɪlstəʊn/n.— an important stage in a process里程碑He called it a milestone for the state.
阅读测验
共 5 道题目
What did IBM switch on in Chicago?
What does the independent qubit reset enable?
The machine will become the main platform of the National Quantum Algorithm Center.
Which points does the article make? (Select all that apply)
The processor line is called Nighthawk, and the Chicago machine uses its second generation, Nighthawk _____.
评论
0 条讨论
登录后发表评论
立即登录暂无评论
成为第一个分享想法的人吧！