Quantum researchers at Google created a new approach to quantum simulation that combined analog and digital approaches, proving out a new way of testing the supercomputers of the future. The team used a quantum simulator made up of 69 superconducting quantum bits, or qubits, to test out their approach. Their research—published Wednesday in Nature—revealed the benefits of the system in comparison to purely analog and digital devices and hinted at the new discoveries in physics that could be made with the hybrid approach. “The reason we’re very excited about it is because we think it could be a great path towards both discoveries and applications on today’s quantum computers,” said Trond Andersen, a research scientist at Google Quantum AI and lead author of the research, in a press conference. “The type of discoveries and applications that would not be possible on even the fastest classical computers in the world.”

Full research : Google’s Hybrid Quantum Simulator could lay the foundations for the next generation of supercomputers to finally outpace their classical predecessors.