So, I was watching a very recent interview of a researcher from Microsoft and a 1Qbit representative. Here, I have sort of summarised their findings which are really interesting. Read on to know more…
Question: So, why do we even need quantum computers ?
Answer: Today we are facing a lot of problems in the world not just at an individual level but on a global level too — from climate change to healthcare to agriculture and what not. These problems are often insolvable or even if they are solvable the computation of the solution is really slow. For example we can solve the problems of capturing the atmospheric carbon to reduce global warming or figure out a quantum algorithm to increase the food production and these would take millions or billions of years to combat with the digital technology but can be done so trivially using the quantum computing technology that we are developing.
Question: How can quantum computing help to improve current problems ?
Answer: The problems that were mentioned above take millions of years to solve on a classical computer like the one on which you are reading this article on. Quantum computers can indeed achieve this task in no time. For example many of us have known people who are diagnosed with a serious illness like cancer, epilepsy etc and to detect whether the treatment being done for them is really turning out to be effective is a task that still needs a lot of work as the symptoms only reveal themselves at a very later stage. The quantum algorithms can increase the speed at which the MRIs are taken and also the accuracy to which they identify the various infected tissues can be increased so that we can measure well in time whether the chemo-therapy that was given is working and which tissues really need to be targeted.
Question: Quantum computers are not there in the market so can I possibly contribute to this field?
Answer: To be honest, It was a revelation to me too that we do not need a quantum computer to actually work with the quantum algorithms. The quantum economy is already coming and we need to gear up for that. We can study about the quantum mechanics and the underlying physics and simulate them on our classical computers. Obviously, having a quantum computer will be more efficient in terms of testing the algorithm but for time being to get started we can really harness the benefits using the simulation softwares. Once we have a full-fledged quantum computer in the market, we can run the same algorithms which will be able to produce even better results than they did on the classical computers and we will be able to speed them up even better.
Question : How do you explain quantum computer to a 5-year old?
Answer: The first thing to notice is that quantum computers are faster than the classical computers. Why that is the case because in a classical computer we have transistors in the processors which can either be in an on or an off state and thus they have discrete output while a quantum computer has a more exotic type of transistor which can be in an on or an off state but also in both the states at the same time. The unit of information in a quantum computer is called a qubit which is the core of the functioning of the quantum computers. So, if you have ever heard of the Einstein’s spooky action at a distance or Schrodinger’s cat which can be dead or alive or both at the same time along with interference, sort of all come together to form the working principles of a quantum computer.
Question: Tell us more about quantum hardware?
Answer: We won’t be able to fully unleash the potential of quantum algorithms until we have quantum computer in hand already. Quantum hardwares need to be maintained at millikelvins of temperature which almost absolute zero. Then after we have established this hardware, we need to be able to interact with it to perform various computations because humans cannot directly survive at that temperature. So, that is another field under this umbrella field that needs to be tackled and Microsoft is intensively working on it. Also, they are trying to evolve the technology in such a way that an end user does not need to understand the principle of quantum mechanics to harness the technology. Microsoft has even released their Quantum Development Kit(QDK) and opensourced their language for quantum software Q# so as to engage the broader community for it’s development.
Questions: Any last words of advice for anybody who wants to get started with any aspect of quantum computing?
Answer: As mentioned above the Quantum Development Kit is highly suggested. Also, the businesses can dive deep into this because this field has already evolved so much that it can start to make a difference in the solutions which they are trying to provide. Also, the researchers are already working to make it tailormade for anybody who wishes to incorporate this technology into their businesses so that it is not required by a rookie to start everything from the very scratch and they do not need to know the crux of quantum mechanics at all. The quantum economy is already coming and we should brace ourselves for the same.
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The Alpha Technocrat 