People who make the smartest investment decisions are those with good understanding of the areas they wish to plough in. if you are looking to invest in quantum computing (QC), then you are perusing the right article. That’s because in this article, you will learn what quantum technology means, how it differs from today’s computers and what the future holds for that rapidly evolving technology.
UNDERSTANDING QUANTUM COMPUTING
In elementary physics, quantum (with the plural form, quanta) means the minutest unit of any physical property or entity, such as energy or light. The concept that such physical properties only exist in discrete quantities is known as quantization. For instance, photo is a quantum of light. In your elementary physic, you likely came across the phrase, wave-particle duality. It is an idea from quantum mechanics that details how small objects have dual features of particles and waves at the same time. It is worth mentioning that German Theoretical Physicist Max Planck introduced the word, quantum, in 1900 by assuming that energy is emitted and absorbed in discrete packets.
HOW DOES THE QUANTUM CONCEPT APPLY TO COMPUTERS?
The application of quantum to computers is knowing as quantum computing. To better grasp the advent of quantum computers in today’s world, you have to first grasp the architectural foundation of the digital device (known as a classical computer) you are reading this article from. Today’s computers are known as classical computers. Over the years, they have evolved from First Generation Computers to the Fourth Generation. Computers in each generation is defined by a processor that differentiates them from computers of the preceding year.
The First Generation (1940s – 1950s): Computers in this generation used vacuum tubes as their processor and were used in basic calculations and military applications.
The Second Generation (1950s – 1960s): Well, computers at this time used transistors as their processor and were mostly applied to scientific research studies and business data analysis.
The Third Generation (1960s – 1970s): Computers in this era used Integrated Circuits (ICs) as their processor and could carry our business tasks, real-time processing and multitasking.
The Fourth Generation (1970s – Present): This is the computer we use in today’s world and its processor is built with microprocessor, meaning that a single chip contained the entire central processing unit (CPU). These devices are capable of browsing and carrying out multimedia and internet browsing.
The Fifth Generation: Quantum computers? Yes, the quantum computers will be the next generation of computers because every generation of computers comes with a unique processor that makes it unique, which enhances processing speed and reliability.
HOW DOES THE QUANTUM CONCEPT APPLY TO COMPUTERS?
The main disparities between them are discussed in detail below.
- Description of Objects: To be clear, classical physics focuses on the characteristics and movement of macroscopic or extremely big objects, such as the planets, stars, spacecraft, and galaxies. These are big objects (entities) that have speeds not more than that of light. They have also been accurately measured with results provided. For instance, the size of Planet Earth is 6,371km. Conversely, quantum physics has more complicated theories and deals with the behavior and measurements of infinitesimal or microscopic objects. By and large, the focus here is on the properties of molecules and their constituents, such as electrons, protons, neutrons, and even esoteric particles (quarks and gluons). Therefore, here, people learn about the wave-particle duality, atoms, subatomic particles, wave function, etc.
- Data Processing: In the classical world, information is stored in either 0 or 1. The inputs are added in 0s and 1s. This is the same logic used to process data. In terms of voltage, this can also be interpreted as OFF (LOW) or ON (HIGH). A pair of bits can produce four values like 00, 01, 10, and 11. This means that if there are 3 bits, there are 8 values. It keeps increasing in that order. The implication is that more resources are required to process information fast with clock speed measured in gigahertz. On the other hand, the quantum world stores data as in qubits and leverages the principles of superposition and entanglement to achieve that. Superposition means that qubits can exist in two states (0 and 1) at the same time. This sounds great, right? Well, here’s the challenge: Qubits need to be alive (to be held for some time) to do any meaningful work. As a result, research studies are ongoing to achieve that. One of such studies was done at the University of Oxford, where researchers used silicon-28 to achieve superposition for 192 seconds.
- Subdivisions (Branches): When it comes to subdivisions, the classical field is divided into three: Newtonian, Lagrangian and Hamiltonian. The idea behind these subdivisions is based on the mathematical methods and quantities used for studying the movement of objects. Contrastingly, the quantum field is broadly categorized into two. Firstly, quantum mechanics of nonrelativistic bodies, which focuses on subatoms with speeds relatively smaller than the speed of light. Then the second category is the quantum mechanics of relativistic bodies, which studies the subatoms with speeds relatively compatible with the speed of light.
- Interaction (Touch): In the classical world, macroscopic objects can be seen and touched because they are considered tangible. You can touch your smartphone or the mouse of your computer and then scroll down the screen to read this article. However, that is not the case in the quantum world because the concepts of “solid” and “boundaries” don’t exist here. As a result, the whole idea of touching microscopic particles is a mere illusion.
- Applications: Classical mechanics is applied to concepts like optics, thermodynamics, electrodynamics, etc. Keep in mind that this world cannot be applied to microscopic bodies. On the flip side, quantum mechanics is applied to phenomena like superfluidity and superconductivity.
- Development: As far as the classical world is concerned, it is fully developed. Some notable names in this field are Sir Isaac Newton, who is considered the father of classical physics. Other iconic names include Galileo Galilei, Blaise Pascal, Robert Hooke, Thomas Young, etc. As for the quantum world, it is still developing and evolving. So far, some renowned pioneers are Albert Einstein, Max Planck, and Werner Heisenberg.
