The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is joining the quest to develop quantum computers, devices that would exploit quantum mechanics to crack problems that overwhelm conventional computers. The initiative comes as Google and other companies race to build a quantum computer that can demonstrate "quantum supremacy" by beating classical computers on a test problem. But reaching that milestone will not mean practical uses are at hand, and the new $40 million DOE effort is intended to spur the development of useful quantum computing algorithms for its work in chemistry, materials science, nuclear physics, and particle physics. With the resources at its 17 national laboratories, DOE could play a key role in developing the machines, researchers say, although finding problems with which quantum computers can help isn9t so easy.

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美国能源部推动有用的量子计算

美国能源部 (DOE) 正在加入开发量子计算机的行列，这些设备将利用量子力学来解决传统计算机无法解决的问题。这一举措出台之际，谷歌和其他公司竞相打造量子计算机，该计算机可以通过在测试问题上击败经典计算机来证明“量子霸权”。但达到这一里程碑并不意味着实际用途就在眼前，美国能源部耗资 4000 万美元的新项目旨在刺激有用的量子计算算法的开发，以用于其在化学、材料科学、核物理学和粒子物理学方面的工作。研究人员表示，凭借其 17 个国家实验室的资源，美国能源部可以在开发机器方面发挥关键作用，尽管找到量子计算机可以帮助解决的问题并不容易。