(aka: I watched a few YouTube Shorts about Google’s Willow chip)
It started, as all bad decisions do…
You know the drill.
You open YouTube for “just one quick video.”
Next thing you know it’s 1:42am, you’ve forgotten what sleep is, and you’re deep into a bloke explaining the universe.
Mine started with a Short about Willow quantum chip.
And from that moment on…
I was gone.
A chat today with Evie (workmate) reminded me I should do a blog about it
First: normal computers.
Your everyday computer runs on bits.
A bit is either:
- 0 (nope)
- 1 (yep)
That’s it. Black or white. Tea or no tea. Simple.
Everything you do:
- Emails
- TikTok
- Booking a driving test you’ll probably move anyway (you reading Will)
…is just billions of 0s and 1s doing their thing.
Then quantum computing arrives… and immediately ignores all logic
Quantum computers use qubits.
And qubits basically said:
“What if we were 0… AND 1… at the same time?”
This is called superposition.
So instead of:
- “It’s this OR that”
Quantum says:
- “It’s both… until you check… then I panic and choose”
Which, to be fair, is how I deal with emails.
Why is this actually useful?
Because qubits can be multiple things at once, quantum computers can:
👉 Try loads of possibilities simultaneously
👉 Instead of one-by-one like normal computers
Think:
- Normal computer = checks every door one at a time 🚪
- Quantum computer = kicks all the doors in at once
Efficient if slightly unhinged butI respect it.
Then I discovered the double-slit experiment… and my mind did a double-take.
Scientists fired tiny particles at a wall with two slits.
Normal expectation:
👉 Two neat lines behind the slits
Actual result:
👉 A weird wave pattern
👉 As if each particle went through both slits at once
Already dodgy.
Then ( and this is the bonkers bit) they tried watching it
The moment they observe which slit it goes through:
👉 The wave pattern disappears
👉 It behaves like a normal particle
So:
- Not watching = it’s everywhere
- Watching = it picks a lane
My take (highly scientific):
The universe might just be saying:
“I’ll decide what I am when you look at me.”
🐱 Enter the most famous cat in physics
Along comes Erwin Schrödinger with what can only be described as a cry for help:
Put a cat in a box with a random death mechanism.
If it triggers → cat = dead
If not → cat = alive
BUT…
👉 Until you open the box
👉 The cat is both alive AND dead
Yeh right erm ok.
This is superposition again.
Same idea as qubits.
The cat isn’t one or the other…
…it’s both possibilities at once.
And just to top it off… entanglement
Quick bonus weirdness:
👉 Two particles get linked
👉 Change one… the other reacts instantly
Even if they’re miles apart.
No delay. No signal.
Just:
“Oi mate I felt that.”
So Quantum physics also said:
“Let’s ignore distance as well while we’re here.”
So what’s the actual point of all this madness?
Quantum computers aren’t for:
- Emails
- TikTok
- Pointless blogs
They’re for big, big, problems like:
- Drug discovery 💊
- Climate modelling 🌍
- Breaking encryption 🔐
- Complex systems optimisation
Stuff where normal computers take years…
Quantum might smash through in minutes.
Back to Willow
That original Short about Willow quantum chip?
It’s all about trying to:
- Keep qubits stable
- Stop them collapsing too soon
- Basically hold reality in that weird “both at once” state long enough to do something useful
At the moment, quantum computers are a bit like:
A Formula 1 car… built out of lego
Cool with Incredible potential.
But not quite ready for your weekly shop.
Final thoughts from the quantum abyss
Let’s just summarise what we’ve learned:
- Computers can think in 0s and 1s
- Quantum computers think in “why not both”
- Particles can go through two places at once
- Watching something changes what it is
- A cat can be alive and dead simultaneously
And we’re building technology based on this.
Honest conclusion
I started with:
“What’s this Willow thing then?”
I ended with:
“Is reality just making it up as it goes along?”
If you fancy falling down this rabbit hole… go for it.
Just know:
This isn’t a normal rabbit hole.
It’s a quantum one.
Which probably means:
👉 You’re in it
👉 And not in it
👉 Until you finish the video
Stay haphazard.
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