I first heard about quantum computers maybe a couple months ago during a random YouTube tech-related rabbit hole and having always been fascinated by physics, I was instantly intrigued. But, as it wasn’t what I needed to be focusing on at the time (YouTube makes for marvelous distraction/procrastination) I tabled it for later. Later is now, and I wanted to try to get a better understanding, if only a basic one, of what quantum computers are.
Indeed, quantum computing is “essentially exploiting the amazing laws of quantum mechanics to process information.” (uwaterloo.ca) In the YouTube video I initially watched, there was a woman from IBM’s Quantum Research department tasked with explaining the core of this technology to five different people: a child, a teenager, both an undergrad and a graduate student, and finally, a professional. I remember that early on, with either the child or teenager, she used a coin to help illustrate the fundamental difference in how a quantum computer works. Using the coin as a metaphor for binary — where there are two sides — if you flip or spin it, the coin will always land on one side — it will either be heads or tails. Quantum computing, however, operates within the realm of a never-ending coin spin. Demonstrating this, she spun the coin and said to image that it could stay spinning forever, suspended, and thus always be both heads and tails and never just one. What this means, or can be translated as, boils down to a quantum computer’s ability to “perform calculations based on the probability of an object’s state before it is measured – instead of just 1s or 0s – which means they have the potential to process exponentially more data compared to classical computers.” (sciencealert.com)
Classical computers also operate utilizing state, but this state — called a “bit” — is fixed, definite, final, because with binary, there can only ever be 1 or 0. There have been increases in in size and capability since the first computer — think 8-bit, 16-bit, 32-bit, but in relation to quantum computers, this capability proves nominal. Back to the coin metaphor, a quantum computer’s bit-equivalent is aptly called a “qubit” and it refers to that undetermined state — the spinning coin — of an object. This quantum state is said to be in “superposition” and while superposition relates to an object’s properties being in flux, there is a relationship between superpositions of an objects.
Because the scientific and mathematical foundation of this technology allows these computers to perform calculations before knowing the final state or property of an objects, outcomes can be achieved exponentially faster. It could lead to “solving complex mathematical problems, producing hard-to-break security codes, or predicting multiple particle interactions in chemical reactions.” (sciencealert.com)
So yes it is fascinating. But that aside, this really made me think about how my generation has witnessed amazing leaps in technological capabilities, and because technology is so intertwined with culture, also it’s profound sociological effects. As a millennial, I’m in that select group of people who grew up both with and without the internet. Yes, the internet was invented decades before my birth and was around during all of my youth, but not on the mass public scale that arrived in the mid-90’s. I distinctly remember the arrival of AOL when I was in about 6th grade or so and the swift changes in technology that came with it. I was on computers well before middle school, but they weren’t quite the ubiquitous tools they are today. Definitely not in a personal sense, but also barely in an educational sense. Now, it’s hard to imagine any learning institution where computers aren’t a necessary part of the lectures, curriculum, or even simply the experience. It’s amazing to think what kind of new advancements quantum computers could bring to our workplaces, our schools, our homes, and even our transportation. I don’t work at IBM Quantum Research so I won’t dole out my hypotheses, but I hope that I get to witness some of the societal implementations in my lifetime.
Sources:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWJCfOvochA&t=362s
- https://uwaterloo.ca/institute-for-quantum-computing/quantum-computing-101
- https://www.ibm.com/quantum-computing/learn/what-is-quantum-computing/
- https://www.sciencealert.com/quantum-computers
- https://www.wired.co.uk/article/quantum-computing-explained
- https://hackernoon.com/quantum-computing-explained-a114999299ca
- https://hackernoon.com/quantum-computing-explained-94125280fabb
- https://www.livescience.com/google-hits-quantum-supremacy.html
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