Intro to Quantum Computing and its role in Today's Technological space. [PART 1]

First of all, let's start by addressing what the heck is Quantum Computing and why do we want to know about it?🤔

Quantum computing is been a mystery for scientists for decades, in observing nature's smallest particles like atoms, photons, or electrons.

At this micro level, the classical laws of physics cease to apply. It has become difficult for Researchers and Scientists to crack it.

While we don't understand everything about the quantum world still, what we do know is that quantum particles hold immense potential to hold and process large amounts of information.

Quantum computing is our way of emulating nature to solve extraordinarily difficult problems and make them tractable says Bob Sutor - chief quantum exponent at IBM

Successfully bringing those particles under control in a quantum computer could exponentially enhance compute power that would phenomenally advance innovation in many fields that require complex calculations, like modeling, optimizations, predictions, logistics, etc.. and solve those in seconds.

What is a quantum computer?

Quantum computers come in various shapes and forms, but they are all built on the same principle: they host a quantum processor where quantum particles can be isolated for engineers to manipulate.

It does not look like our personal computers, it looks super complex.

lots of complex engineering is needed to build a Quantum computer.

The nature of those quantum particles, as well as the method employed to control them, varies from one quantum computing approach to another.

Some methods require the processor to be cooled down to freezing temperatures, others to handle quantum particles using lasers – but in the end, the goal is to find out how to efficiently exploit the value of quantum physics.

What's the difference between a quantum computer and a classical computer?

The systems we have been using in various shapes and forms – laptops, smartphones, cloud servers, supercomputers – are known as classical computers.

Those are based on bits, a unit of information that powers every computation that happens in the device.

In a classical computer, each bit can take on either a value of one or zero to represent and transmit the information that is used to carry out computations. Using bits, developers can write programs, which are sets of instructions that are read and executed by the computer.

There are large problems, that classical devices can't solve.

There are calculations that could be done on a classical system, but they might take millions of years or use more computer memory that exists in total on Earth.

In the case of quantum computers, they are based on qubits, also known as quantum bits.

Qubits have very different properties to bits because they are made from quantum particles found in nature.

One of the properties of quantum particles that are most useful for quantum computing is known as superposition, which allows quantum particles to exist in several states at the same time.

The best way to imagine superposition is to compare it to tossing a coin: instead of being heads or tails, quantum particles are the coin while it is still spinning.

By controlling quantum particles, researchers can load them with data to create qubits – and thanks to superposition, a single qubit doesn't have to be either one or a zero, but can be both at the same time. In other words, while a classical bit can only be heads or tails, a qubit can be, at once, heads and tails.

This means that, when asked to solve a problem, a quantum computer can use qubits to run several calculations at once to find an answer, exploring many different avenues in parallel.

qubits can be physically linked together, thanks to another quantum property called entanglement, meaning that with every qubit that is added to a system, the device's capabilities increase exponentially, where adding more bits only generates linear improvement.

Every time we use another qubit in a quantum computer, we double the amount of information and processing ability available for solving problems.

So by the time we get to 275 qubits, we can compute with more pieces of information than there are atoms in the observable universe.

Interesting right?!

Why do we need Quantum Computers?

By now you would have guessed it.

But, let me elaborate...

Programmers write problems in the form of algorithms for classical computers to resolve – and similarly, quantum computers will carry out calculations based on quantum algorithms.

Researchers have already identified that some quantum algorithms would be particularly suited to the enhanced capabilities of quantum computers.

For example, quantum systems could tackle optimization algorithms, which help identify the best solution among many feasible options and could be applied in a wide range of scenarios ranging from supply chain administration to traffic management.

Quantum simulation algorithms are also expected to deliver unprecedented results, as qubits enable researchers to handle the simulation and prediction of complex interactions between molecules in larger systems.

With quantum computers capable of handling and processing much larger datasets, AI and machine-learning applications are set to benefit hugely, with faster training times and more capable algorithms.

And researchers have also demonstrated that quantum algorithms have the potential to crack traditional cryptography keys, which for now are too mathematically difficult for classical computers to break.

This is PART1 of Intro to Quantum Computing and its role in Today's Technological space.

In the upcoming parts let us discuss on types of quantum computers, quantum supremacy, cloud quantum computing and how can we run a quantum computer from our local machine.

Thank you for reaching till down😀

happy learning

-JHA