China Is at the Forefront of the Quantum Revolution　中國走在量子革命最前沿

珍妮·惠倫　孫加

More than a decade ago， Chinese physicist Pan Jian-Wei returned home from Europe to help oversee research into some of the most important technology of the 21st century.

At a conference in Shanghai last summer， Pan and his team offered a rare peek at the work he described as a “revolution.”

They spoke of the hacking-resistant1 communications networks they are building across China， the sensors they are designing to see through smog and around corners， and the prototype computers2 that may someday smash the computational power of any existing machine.

All the gear3 is based on quantum technology—an emerging field that could transform information processing and confer big economic and national-security advantages to countries that dominate it. To the dismay of some scientists and officials in the United States， Chinas formidable4 investment is helping it catch up with Western research in the field and， in a few areas， pull ahead.

Beijing is pouring billions into research and development and is offering Chinese scientists big perks5 to return home from Western labs.

Quantum technology seeks to harness6 the distinct properties of atoms， photons7 and electrons to build more powerful tools for processing information.

In 2018， China had nearly twice as many patent filings8 as the United States for quantum technology overall， a category that includes communications and cryptology9 devices， according to market research firm Patinformatics10. The United States， though， leads the world in patents relating to the most prized segment of the field—quantum computers—thanks to heavy investment by IBM， Google， Microsoft and others.

Helping oversee Chinas program is Pan， whom Chinese media call the “father of quantum.” From his labs at the University of Science and Technology of China （USTC）， in Shanghai and Hefei， the 50-year-old leads a team of 130 researchers. In 2017， the journal Nature named him one of “ten people who mattered this year，” saying he had “lit a fire under11 the countrys efforts in quantum technology.”

In his talk at the Shanghai event， Pan detailed how China is harnessing qubits12 to safeguard its communications from hacking—one of the fields in which China appears to have a lead over the West.

Pan and his team are aiming to launch a constellation of13 satellites and a nationwide fiber-optic14 network that use qubits to securely transmit information. An almost 1，300-mile fiber link connecting Beijing， Shanghai and other cities is already up and running. So is a satellite China launched in 2016， which has conducted several prominent experiments， including facilitating15 a hacking-resistant video conference between Beijing and Vienna.

If the technology gains traction16 globally， China could be in a strong position to sell it， given the large number of patents its universities and companies have registered for devices and technology relating to quantum communication and encryption17， according to Patinformatics.

For now， China is lagging behind18 the US tech industry in perhaps the most important race in the field： building a quantum computer.

A fully functioning quantum computer has the potential to be transformative. The exponentially19 greater calculation power could help identify new chemical compounds to treat intractable20 diseases， and eliminate traffic snarls21 by predicting and managing the flow of vehicles.

To get a fully functioning computer—a goal still a decade or more away， most scientists agree—researchers must coax22 a large number of qubits into working together efficiently. Thats difficult because qubits are finicky23 and have the propensity24 to stop functioning at the slightest disturbance， such as a minor change in temperature.

Google and IBM are at the forefront， using superconducting25 circuits to manipulate qubits. In 2018， Google unveiled a quantum processor with 72 qubits， surpassing IBMs previously announced 50-qubit computer.

Chinese researchers so far have reported a 12-qubit processor， using superconducting technology similar to Googles and IBMs.

The leader of that work， USTC professor Zhu Xiaobo， presented his teams results at the Shanghai conference， flashing a picture of their prototype on the screen—a shiny tangle of coaxial cables26 resembling an intricate golden chandelier.

“We are now working on 24 qubits，” Zhu said. “We hope next year we will go to 50， and maybe sometime we will go to quantum supremacy27，” he added， referring to the point at which a quantum computer is able to perform a calculation that existing computers cant. Lu Chaoyang， a young physicist who earned his PhD at Cambridge University， also stepped to the lectern to deliver an update on his teams approach to quantum computing. It relies on photons， which he dubbed28 “fast-flying qubits.”

十多年前，中國物理學家潘建偉從歐洲歸國，成為某項21世紀最重要技術研究的總負責人。

去年夏天，在上海某次會議上，潘建偉和團隊讓公眾得以一窺他稱之為“革命”的研究內容。

據介紹，他們正在鋪設遍布全國的防黑客入侵通信網絡，設計能穿透煙霧、繞過拐角的探測傳感器，以及幾臺原型計算機——這些計算機的計算能力，在將來的某一天，會碾壓現存的任何機器。

這些設備均基于量子技術。量子技術是目前正嶄露頭角的新領域，該領域能徹底改變信息處理的過程，為掌握該技術的國家帶來可觀的經濟收入與國防優勢。中國在這一領域中投下了巨額資金，逐步趕上西方同類研究，并在某些方面取得了領先地位。這一點，頗讓美國的某些科學家和政府官員驚愕。

北京方面為該技術的研發投下了幾十億的資金，還提供了豐厚的津貼，以吸引中國科學家離開西方國家的實驗室，回歸祖國。

量子技術的目標是：掌握原子、光子和電子各自的獨特性質，用以建造更加強大的信息處理工具。

根據專注市場研究的 “專利信息分析”公司的數據，2018年，中國在量子總體技術（包括通信及密碼學設備）方面申請的專利，達到了美國的兩倍。但是，在量子技術最有價值的一塊——量子計算機方面，美國申請的專利則領先全世界。這多虧了IBM、谷歌、微軟及其他公司的大量投資。

中國量子技術項目的總負責人，則是被中國媒體譽為“量子之父”的潘建偉。他現年50歲，來自中國科學技術大學，在上海及合肥均設有實驗室，領導著130人的研究團隊。2017年，他入選《自然》雜志“全球科學界十大年度人物”，稱他“推動了國家在量子技術方面的投入”。

在上海會議上，潘建偉詳細介紹了中國如何利用量子比特保障通信安全，杜絕黑客——這正是中國似乎領先西方的領域之一。

潘建偉團隊計劃發射一系列衛星，同時建設覆蓋全國的光纖網絡，利用量子比特實現信息安全傳輸。目前，已有近1300英里的光纖鋪設完成并投入使用，連接北京、上海及其他城市。2016年，中國還發射了一顆衛星，利用這顆衛星，團隊進行了數項重要實驗，其中之一便是協助實現了北京—維也納之間的防黑客安全視頻會議。

據“專利信息分析”公司預測，由于國內大學與公司注冊過大量量子通信與加密的設備和技術專利，一旦量子技術開始在全球獲得關注和推廣，中國在專利出售方面可能處于有利地位。

不過，在可能是這一領域最重要的競賽——量子計算機制造方面，中國仍暫時落后于美國的技術工業。

一臺功能完備的量子計算機，有可能徹底改變世界。相比現有計算機，量子計算機的計算能力會以指數級別提高，能識別新的化合物，以治療棘手的疾病;還能預測和管理車流量，徹底消除交通堵塞。

要造出功能完備的量子計算機——大多數科學家認為，距離實現這一目標還需要十年或更多時間——研究者們必須想辦法讓大量量子比特一同高效運作。要實現這一點很困難：量子比特對環境十分挑剔，任何微小的擾動——比如溫度略有升降——都有可能造成量子比特運作失常。

在這方面，谷歌與IBM公司進展最快。他們利用超導電路來操控量子比特。2018年，谷歌發布了一款72量子比特的量子處理器，超越了IBM此前發布的50量子比特計算機。

目前，中國研究者們公開發布的只有12量子比特的處理器，用的也是跟谷歌與IBM類似的超導技術。

中國量子計算機項目的領頭人、中國科大教授朱曉波在上海舉行的會議上，展示了所率團隊的研究成果。他在大屏幕上播放了團隊設計的原型計算機的一張照片——閃亮的同軸電纜錯綜復雜，仿佛造型繁復的金色枝形吊燈。

“我們正在研發24量子比特的計算機。”朱曉波說。接著，他補充道：“我們希望明年能達到50量子比特，或許將來能取得量子霸權。”量子霸權，指的是量子計算機的計算能力達到某個節點，能夠完成現存計算機無法完成的計算任務。在劍橋大學獲得博士學位的年輕物理學家陸朝陽也上臺發表了演講。在演講中，他提到自己團隊在量子計算方面的新進展：利用光子——他稱之為“高速飛行的量子比特”——進行量子計算。

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎者）

1 hacking-resistant防黑客入侵的。? 2 prototype computer原型計算機，指投入量產前的創新樣品計算機。? 3 gear設備。

4 formidable驚人的。? 5 perk津貼，額外補貼。? 6 harness控制，掌握。? 7 photon光子。? 8 patent filing專利申請。? 9 cryptology密碼學。? 10 Patinformatics該公司名稱由patent、information、analytics三詞合成，意為“專利信息分析”。

11 lit a fire under推動。? 12 qubit量子比特，量子信息的計量單位。? 13 a constellation of一系列。? 14 fiber-optic光纖，光導纖維的簡稱，由玻璃或塑料制成的纖維，利用光的全內反射原理傳輸的光傳導工具。? 15 facilitate協助實現。? 16 traction牽引力，此處引申為影響。? 17 encryption加密。? 18 lag behind落后。

19 exponentially以指數級別地。? 20 intractable棘手的。? 21 snarl堵塞，混亂。? 22 coax設法實現。? 23 finicky挑剔的。? 24 propensity傾向。? 25 superconducting超導的。超導現象指材料在低于某一溫度時，電阻變為零的現象，特征是零電阻和完全抗磁性。

26 coaxial cable同軸電纜。? 27 supremacy優勢，最高地位。? 28 dub稱為。