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Quantum computers have long held the promise of performing certain calculations that are impossible- or at least, entirely impractical-for even the most powerful conventional computers to perform. Now, researchers at a Google laboratory in Goleta, Calif., may finally be on the cusp of proving it, using the same kinds of quantum bits, or qubits, that one day could make up largescale quantum machines. By the end of this year, the team aims to increase the number of superconducting qubits it builds on integrated circuits to create a 7-by-7 array. With this quantum IC, the Google researchers aim to perform operations at the edge of what's possible with even the best supercomputers, and so demonstrate "quantum supremacy." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]