Hear Me Out

You must have heard the words quantum computing in passing. I didn't know anything about it myself until about two years ago. It seems cool because Iron Man talks about it in the Avengers movies but you never actually take a conscious effort to learn more about it. 

Quantum computing is based on the science of quantum mechanics. As it turns out, you can attempt to understand the science well but unfortunately, you can’t understand the field completely. Don’t believe me? Well, “I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics.” This is a quote by world-renowned physicist Richard Feynman. This shouldn’t be discouraging though. I knew of this quote when I had first started the course “Quantum Mechanics for Everyone” by Georgetown University but I went for it anyway. Why, you may ask? I saw it as a challenge. If no one has understood the field completely, I could be the first to do so. Sounds optimistic but it gave me the motivation to explore the field more. I mean, who wouldn’t want to be the first person to do anything, especially know a complex scientific topic in and out? 

Quantum Computation (to be precise the mechanics) is based on two core principles of Superposition and Entanglement. Huh. Big words. Let me explain. Think of the poem “The Road not Taken” by Robert Frost. The poet talks about two roads diverging in a yellow wood which is a metaphor for two paths one can take when at crossroads in life. One path is safe and the other is less traveled. We as humans have to pick either, which has a 50% chance of failure. Imagine if you could travel through both paths at the same time. What a solid success rate in life. That’s basically superposition.  Now, imagine being in the early stages of a relationship. You don't want to spend a second away from your significant other and your actions immensely affect theirs and vice versa. In essence, your existence for some time can’t be separated from theirs. 

Since you have two principles of quantum computing down, we move on to the computing part. Normal computing is understood by a computer in binary i.e 0 or 1. Meaning, that a normal computer reads your command through either of two numbers and performs the task. For instance, when you press the spacebar, the computer reads it as 00100000 and performs its duty. Now, for a quantum computer ( because it is based on the two principles mentioned above) it can read your command in 0, 1 or both simultaneously. This characteristic allows quantum computers to perform parallel computation- solving for multiple variables at the same time. Picture all your algebra homework problems being solved simultaneously within seconds.  Basically, a quantum computer has mastered the art of multitasking. 

But why do we care about quantum computing? The easiest explanation for that is that it's fast. I don't know about you but I feel the need, the need for speed. These computers aren’t developed enough to solve problems apart from the ones a supercomputer can solve, only that they’d take a few months if not years less to solve these complex problems than supercomputers. Multiple billion dollar companies like IBM, Google, and Microsoft are interested enough that they have huge and extremely expensive quantum computers for potential applications in data analytics, cryptography, optimization, pattern forecasting, etc.

After reading all this stuff, I’d like to think that you get an idea of what quantum computing represents beyond the words of the great Tony Stark himself. I’m also hoping that you too would accept the challenge of attempting to understand what quantum computing is all about. The spot for the first to ever understand the field completely is still open and waiting for someone to claim it.