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Quantum Technology
Essential Question:
Will Quantum
technology
revolutionize
computers so
much as to change
how everyone in
the world goes
about completing
tasks and
achieving their
goals?
By: Carey LaLiberte
Quantum Computers
What is the basic idea behind most if not
all Quantum Technology?
Quantum technology is the application of the area of physics
called quantum mechanics or Quantum Theory to solve useful
problems for us. The ideas behind quantum theory have their
roots in the early work of Albert Einstein 100 years ago.
Quantum Theory is based on a few very surprising discoveries
about the way the world appears to work One principal is that
what appears to us as a particle of matter is also equivalently a
wave of energy, or a mere probability of being at any one place.
This ties in with the uncertainty principal that says we cannot
know both the position and the velocity of a particle at the same
time. And quantum computing takes advantage of the infinite
number of possible states that a property of matter can be in to
solve problems.
What is entanglement?
Entanglement gets right into the least understood aspect of Quantum
Theory, but it can be briefly described as being the idea that two
particles are linked by nature so that when one is affected, the other is
as well. The distance between the two particles makes no difference
and they are always in opposite states of matter. For example, if one
particle is in the spin-up state, the other will typically be spin-down.
Spin States
There are two possible values for a spin-1/2 particle which are the
positive and negative values for S sub z (+1/2, -1/2).
These two values correspond to a particles quantum states in which
the spin points in the +z and –z directions.
These states are most commonly
known as “Spin-Up” and
“Spin-Down”.
Does entanglement have anything to do
with the advancement of Quantum
computing?
Yes, in fact, the way that quantum states are determined in
the process of narrowing down the possible solutions makes
use of entanglement between the state of the qubit and the
way in which the state is determined.
Why is Quantum Computing so much
better than any other way?
Quantum computing can take advantage of how matter and energy
work to solve problems orders of magnitude faster than current
computer components can. It is not so much that they solve different
kinds of problems but that they make some kinds of very difficult
problems easier to solve in a time frame that makes them practical.
One difficult problem is encryption and decryption. We always want
to find ways of making data more secure through better encryption, and
on the other hand, other people always want to find ways of breaking
the security of encrypted data. This is a race on both sides to build the
fastest computers for these tasks. Another kind of problem that
quantum computers might address is simulating how protein molecules
fold up into the form that we find in our bodies, which would be very
useful in finding better ways to keep us healthy longer.
How does Quantum Computing work?
The best analogy is the game 20 Questions. The
common way of doing quantum computing now is to
reduce the set of all possible answers to a smaller and
smaller set until there is only one possible answer left.
Basically, instead of 3 + 7 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 2 being equal
to 24, we already know that 3 * 8 is equal to 24. This
application makes very little difference in the time
required to execute, but the same idea is used on a much
larger scale like sequencing the human genome.
Moore's Law
Moore's Law predicts that the
current accelerating increase in
computer power will continue,
but in order to do so, at some
point we will have to be using
quantum computing technology.
When that will happen is
unknown, and in fact, we can
rarely see beyond the next 5 to
10 years to guess what
technology will be practical to
use. It might be another 20 to
40 years before quantum
computing is practical, or we
might be surprised to discover an
easy way to build them in 5
years.
Quantum based Computers
Currently, quantum computing is still very much in the
laboratory, with very tiny numbers of quantum computational
bits, called qubits. A few very specialized applications can
make use of this level of advancement. But it does seem
inevitable that more widespread applications will be possible
eventually.
We won't see Quantum computers in common use around our
homes and work places until it is clear, from a business
standpoint, that practical manufacturing processes can be created.
There are too many unknown variables to predict this. Long
before then, we would see quantum computation used in special
applications.
Artificial Intelligence and the
Human Mind
If we want to merely simulate how our brains work, then quantum computing
could help with that extremely difficult problem, but even if we succeed, we
might end up with something very different from how our minds actually
work. We can also think of artificial intelligence as merely advanced problem
solving in a way that appears to be human, and certainly quantum computers
can help make advanced problems much simpler. Or we can think about what
it means to be conscious, and build quantum computers that directly address
the nature of consciousness.
We still know very little about how the human mind works, but it seems we
solve problems in a way that is similar to quantum computing. All the
possible solutions to a problem seem to be available to us in our unconscious
processes, just as quantum computation makes use of the infinite possible
solutions to problems.
Conclusions
Just as current computers already are helping us increase
our knowledge of the world, and be more productive in our
work, quantum computing will continue that trend. But
also, as some kinds of very difficult problems become
practical to solve at all, this will change the kinds of things
we can do.
We know very little about how quantum mechanics works,
and there could very well be connections between how our
minds work and how quantum computing would work, such
that we may have an influence on quantum computers. This
could be a desirable outcome, if we can control it.
Bibliography
http://www.fastcursor.com/computers/quantum-computer-photo-gallery.asp
http://www.digitalworldtokyo.com/index.php/digital_tokyo/articles/japanese_qua
ntum_computer_breakthrough_heralds_end_of_weak_fleshy_humanity/
http://www.quantech.com.au/node/contact?page=5
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/releases/2003/47.cfm
http://www.crystalinks.com/timetravel.html
http://www.justinmullins.com/entanglement.htm
http://www.qubit.org/people/david/Articles/PPQT.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spin_(physics)