Typically, the most powerful quantum computers must also be kept extremely cold to run more qubits. The cost comes from the fact that quantum computing is a highly specialized field requiring expertise in various areas, from quantum mechanics to computer science and electrical engineering. Who is developing quantum computers?ĭeveloping top-end quantum hardware is expensive, and as a result, many of the leading players in the field are the biggest tech companies. They will also transform cryptography - quantum computers can crack the public key encryption systems used to protect data today, but also have the power to generate unhackable communications channels via quantum key distribution, whereby parties agree to encryption keys and then use quantum computers to protect them from interference in transit. They can crunch so-called “Monte Carlo simulations”, calculations that can predict the behavior of financial markets in real-time. In life sciences, quantum computers can simulate how molecules interact with one another with unprecedented accuracy, offering the prospect of dramatically accelerating the time it takes to bring new drugs to market. Quantum machines can optimize the most complex global supply chains, or analyze huge quantities of agricultural data about the use of water, fertilizers and other inputs to enable farmers to make more efficient and sustainable decisions. These capabilities mean quantum computers have colossal potential in areas as diverse as drug discovery, logistics, finance and cybersecurity. These include simulations of particle behavior, optimization problems involving multiple variables, accelerating the training of AI algorithms, and factoring prime numbers (a critical component of encryption). Quantum computers are exceptionally good at a range of complex operations. As an example, in 2019 a 72-qubit quantum computer performed a calculation in 200 seconds that would reportedly have taken the world’s fastest supercomputer 10,000 years to complete. Quantum entanglement generates exponentially greater processing power through the addition of qubits. The power of a conventional computer has a linear relationship to the number of bits it can process – increase the number of bits and the computer’s capacity will rise in proportion. Qubits can also become “entangled”, meaning the state of one qubit is intrinsically linked to another, no matter how far apart they are (Einstein famously called this “spooky action at a distance”). This third state is known as “superposition”, and a quantum computer with several qubits in superposition can process a huge number of calculations at the same time. By contrast, quantum computers harness “qubits”, which can simultaneously exist as 0s, 1s, or both 0 and 1. “and”, “not” or “or”) to perform calculations and execute programs. Traditional computers use binary “bits” of data that exist in one of two states (represented by “0” and “1”), and process them using logical operations ( e.g. Quantum operates in a completely different way to classical computers, harnessing the properties of quantum mechanics (the interaction between matter and energy at a subatomic level, including via particles such as protons, neutrons, and electrons) to generate vastly superior processing power. How does it work, what are its potential applications, and how might quantum inventions be protected? How do quantum computers work? Real progress has been made in making quantum computing a reality.
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