Year: 2017
Type: article
Abstract: Classic computing can take credit for technology ranging from mobile phones to supercomputers. But in recent years, a budding counterpart to these conventional devices has emerged: quantum computers. Whereas classic computing sometimes fails to solve complex calculations, such as factoring hundred-digit numbers, quantum computing holds the potential to easily tackle such problems. The field of quantum computing has attracted researchers, such as National Academy of Sciences member Christopher Monroe. An experimental atomic physicist at the University of Maryland and fellow of the Joint Quantum Institute and the Joint Center for Quantum Information and Computer Science in Maryland, Monroe uses lasers to exploit atomic particles to study complex computational problems. Monroe spoke to PNAS about how quantum computing might evolve.
Christopher Monroe.
> PNAS:Can you describe some of the basic mechanics of quantum computing?
> Monroe:It all comes down to the superposition principle, in which a quantum system can exist in multiple states at the same time. Consider the fundamental unit of information: the bit. A bit is binary information that can be a 0 or a 1. A quantum bit, or qubit, can be in a superposition of both 0 and 1 as long as it’s isolated and unobserved. A single qubit is pretty trivial, but when you put many qubits together, there become exponentially many possibilities.
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> Let’s consider 300 qubits. That’s an interesting number because the number of possible configurations, 2300, is more than the number of particles in the universe. You could never simulate what happens with 300 qubits on a classical machine; there’s not enough stuff in the universe to do it. The magic with quantum is the power of exponential growth: every time you add a qubit, you double the number of configurations.
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> But to control these qubits and exploit this massive storage, we …
Author: Chris Samoray
Language: English
Subfield: Artificial Intelligence
Field: Computer Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2605463486