{"id":1981,"date":"2019-09-30T02:27:56","date_gmt":"2019-09-30T02:27:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kusuaks7\/?p=1586"},"modified":"2024-03-20T10:49:59","modified_gmt":"2024-03-20T10:49:59","slug":"heres-what-you-really-need-to-know-about-quantum-computing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/bigdata-cloud\/heres-what-you-really-need-to-know-about-quantum-computing\/","title":{"rendered":"Here\u2019s What You Really Need To Know About Quantum Computing"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEvery once in a while, a technology comes along with so much potential that people can\u2019t seem to stop talking about it. That\u2019s fun and exciting, but it can also be confusing. Not all of the people who opine really know what they\u2019re talking about and, as the cacophony of voices increases to a loud roar, it\u2019s hard to know what to believe.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWe\u2019re beginning to hit that point with quantum computing. Listen to some and you imagine that you\u2019ll be strolling down to your local Apple store to pick one up any day now. Others will tell you that these diabolical machines will kill encryption and bring global commerce to a screeching halt. None of this is\u00a0true.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\nWhat is true though is that quantum computing is not only almost unimaginably powerful, it is also completely different than anything we\u2019ve ever seen before. You won\u2019t use a quantum computer to write emails or to play videos, but the technology will significantly impact our lives over the next decade or two. Here\u2019s a basic guide to what you really need to know.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Computing In 3 Dimensions<\/strong><\/h2><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tQuantum computing, as any expert will tell you, uses quantum effects such as\u00a0superposition<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0entanglement<\/a>\u00a0to compute, unlike digital computers that use strings of ones and zeros. Yet quantum effects are so confusing that the great physicist Richard Feynman once remarked that nobody, even world class experts like him, really understands them.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSo instead of quantum effects, think of quantum computing as a machine that works in three dimensions rather than two-dimensions like digital computers. The benefits of this should be obvious, because you can fit a lot more stuff into three dimensions than you can into two, so a quantum computer can handle vastly more complexity than the ones we\u2019re used to.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\nAnother added benefit is that we live in three dimensions, so quantum computers can simulate the systems we deal with every day, like those in materials and biological organisms. Digital computers can do this to some extent, but some information always gets lost translating the data from a three dimensional world to a two dimensional one, which leads to problems.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tI want to stress that this isn\u2019t exactly an accurate description of how quantum computers really work, but it\u2019s close enough for you to get the gist of why they are so different and, potentially, so useful.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Coherence And Error Correction<\/strong><\/h2><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEverybody makes mistakes and the same goes for machines. When you think of all the billions of calculations a computer makes, you can see how even an infinitesimally small error rate can cause a lot of problems. That\u2019s why computers have error correction mechanisms built into their code to catch mistakes and correct them.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWith quantum computers the problem is much tougher because they work with subatomic particles and these systems are incredibly difficult to keep stable. That\u2019s why quantum chips need to be kept within a fraction of a degree of absolute zero. At even a sliver above that, the system \u201cdecoheres\u201d and we won\u2019t be able to make sense out of anything.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\nIt also leads to another problem. Because quantum computers are so prone to error, we need a whole lot of quantum bits (or qubits) for each qubit that performs a logical function. In fact, with today\u2019s technology, we need more than a thousand physical qubits (the kind that are in a machine) for each qubit that can reliably perform a logical function.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThis is why most of the fears of quantum computing killing encryption and destroying the financial system are mostly unfounded. The most advanced quantum computers today only have about 50 qubits, not nearly enough to crack anything. We will probably have machines that strong in a decade or so, but by that time\u00a0quantum safe encryption<\/a>\u00a0should be fairly common.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Building Practical Applications<\/strong><\/h2><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBecause quantum computers are so different, it\u2019s hard to make them efficient for the tasks that we use traditional computers for because they effectively have to translate two-dimensional digital problems into their three-dimensional quantum world. The error correction issues only compound the problem.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThere are some problems, however, that they\u2019re ideally suited to. One is to simulate quantum systems, like molecules and biological systems, which can be tremendously valuable for people like chemists, materials scientists and medical researchers. Another promising area is large optimization problems for use in the financial industry and helping manage complex logistics.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\nYet the people who understand those problems know little about quantum computing. In most cases, they\u2019ve never seen a quantum computer before and have trouble making sense out of the data they generate. So they will have to spend some years working with quantum scientists to figure it out and then some more years explaining what they\u2019ve learned to engineers who can build products and services.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The End Of The Digital Revolution And A New Era Of Innovation<\/strong><\/h2><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOne of the reasons that quantum computing has been generating so much excitement is that\u00a0Moore\u2019s Law is ending<\/a>. The digital revolution was driven by our ability to cram more transistors onto a silicon wafer, so once we are not able to do that anymore, a key avenue of advancement will no longer be viable.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\nSo many assume that quantum computing will simply take over where digital computing left off. It will not. As noted above, quantum computers are fundamentally different than the ones we are used to. They use different logic, require different computing languages and algorithmic approaches and are suited to different tasks.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThat means the major impacts from quantum computers won\u2019t hit for a decade or more. That\u2019s not at all unusual. For example, although Apple came out with the Macintosh in 1984, it wasn\u2019t until the late 90s that there was a measurable bump in productivity. It takes time for\u00a0an ecosystem to evolve<\/a>\u00a0around a technology and drive a significant impact.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWhat\u2019s most important to understand, however, is that the quantum era will open up new worlds of possibility, enabling us to manage almost unthinkable complexity and reshape the physical world. We are, in many ways, just getting started. \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Every once in a while, a technology comes along with so much potential that people can\u2019t seem to stop talking about it. That\u2019s fun and exciting, but it can also be confusing. Not all of the people who opine really know what they\u2019re talking about and, as the cacophony of voices increases to a loud<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":622,"featured_media":4094,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[187],"tags":[95],"ppma_author":[3337],"class_list":["post-1981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bigdata-cloud","tag-big-data-amp-technology"],"authors":[{"term_id":3337,"user_id":622,"is_guest":0,"slug":"greg-satell","display_name":"Greg Satell","avatar_url":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/medium_09100e21-0736-4ca7-ac55-7140c8c4d9d2-150x150.jpg","user_url":"https:\/\/www.gregsatell.com\/%20","last_name":"Satell","first_name":"Greg","job_title":"","description":"Greg Satell is an international keynote speaker, adviser and bestselling author of Cascades: How to Create a Movement that Drives Transformational Change. His previous effort, Mapping Innovation, was selected as one of the best business books of 2017. You can learn more about Greg on his website, GregSatell.com<\/a> and follow him on Twitter<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/622"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1981"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1981\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36486,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1981\/revisions\/36486"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1981"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=1981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}