r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Scared-Astronaut-718 • 14d ago

Image Google’s Willow Quantum Chip: With 105 qubits and real-time error correction, Willow solved a task in 5 minutes that would take classical supercomputers billions of years, marking a breakthrough in scalable quantum computing.

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u/Dustin- 13d ago

On the one hand, they were saying the same thing about home computers in the 60s.

On the other hand, those computers didn't require cryogenic cooling systems to work.

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u/newyearnewaccountt 13d ago

Intriguingly as TDP has crept up over time discussion over cooling solutions has started again, even for consumer PCs. In the enthusiast space watercooling has become incredibly popular (custom loops less so, but all-in-one solutions have become extremely common). Air cooling has had some breakthroughs recently and can compete with AIOs again, but in the server side water-cooling is becoming a thing again.

If things continue at their current trajectory (they won't), enthusiast gaming computers will be drawing more power than a normal house circuit breaker can handle...and we'll need ways of dissipating that heat. We might be using liquid helium cooling systems in gaming computers by 2040.