Quantum Computing

Quantum computing uses specialised computer hardware and quantum mechanical algorithms to solve complex problems that regular computers and supercomputers can’t solve or can’t solve quickly enough. Some areas where quantum computing proves to be superior are machine learning, optimisation, and simulation of physical systems. Quantum computers share some similar properties with regular computers such as chips, circuits, and logic gates. They also both use a binary code of ones and zeros to represent information. What really separates a quantum computer from a regular computer is that a quantum computer uses qubits to process information and a regular computer uses classical bits. A classical bit is an electronic signal that is either on or off with one being the value for on and zero being the value for off. Qubits are represented by quantum particles and thus they can be placed in a superposition of states which means it can represent any combination of both one and zero simultaneously until its state is measured. Qubits are able to interact with one another in a quantum process known as entanglement which occurs when two systems(Qubits in this case) are linked so closely that knowledge about one gives you immediate knowledge about the other, no matter how far apart they are. This allows the qubits to scale exponentially which means two bits can store and process four bits of information, three qubits can store and process eight and so on. This is essentially how the quantum computer processes problems faster than a regular computer as it can process exponentially more information. So you might ask yourself why haven’t quantum computers haven’t replaced regular computers. As it stands, they more than likely never will but instead will complement them. There are still a number of challenges associated with quantum computers. As with most new forms of technology, cost is a huge factor. Quantum hardware is very expensive and sensitive equipment. Arguably the biggest challenge at the moment is qubit decoherence. Qubits are extremely sensitive to their environment and even small disturbances can cause them to lose their quantum properties which is known as decoherence. This causes errors in the computation and reduces the quality of the results. Qubit technology thus requires to be kept at extremely low temperature close to absolute zero to reduce thermal noise and vibrations. This is very expensive to maintain and isn’t feasible in a household environment. A different kind of issue is potential security threats associated with quantum computers. Due to their ability to process such large amounts of information, quantum computers could have the ability to crack existing encryption and security protocols that secure modern business systems and communications. Research will need to be done to develop quantum cryptography techniques to prevent this eventuality. It is clear that quantum computers could prove to be incredible useful tools in years to come but there is work to be done and problems to be solved before they make the impact on our lives that they potentially could.