To those of us who live and breathe tech, quantum computers are well known to be the next big evolution in computer technology. I’m now gonna explain to you why, without getting too deep into the tech, in 5 simple reasons, so that you’ll know more than most people what these dream machines will be able to do.
1. They use quantum mechanics
These types of computers use principles of quantum physics, such as entanglement and superposition. Quantum physics, unlike classical physics, focus on what happens at the particle level, not the macroscopic. Plainly speaking, they study how particles interact. And they have somepretty weird interactions.
Particles do all kinds of weird stuff, such as existing in many different forms at the same time. Translate that to quantum computers, and you get qubits. Unlike the normal computer bits, which can be 1 or 0, these qubits can be 1 AND 0 at the same time. Sounds weird? It is. But what it means is, these quantum computers can do many operations faster than normal computers could, and they could do them at the same time. Which brings us to out next point.
2. They offer astonishing computing power
As described previously, the qubits the quantum pcs work on can do fascinating computational stuff all at the same time (don’t think too much on this, or you’ll get a headache). The practical applications of this are almost limitless.
For starters, they could use quantum algorithms. These algorithms, which cant be run by normal computers, can do mathematical operations that would take normal computers thousands of years, in a matter of seconds.
These mean that many encryption algorithms used today could suddenly be vulnerable to a quantum computer. Database queries could be done much faster, allowing easier access to greater volumes of information. And there are many other applications we can only speculate at from here.
3. They will be great for businesses
These new systems could have many potential applications. Once they start going into the mainstream, their impact on the economy will be felt instantly.
Programs deployed on quantum computers, for example, will be able to do many of today’s most on demand financial analysis operations in a matter of seconds. They will be able to analyze stock prices and trends much better than human operators could, and optimize trading strategies. This will make a lot of businesses richer in the long term, as well as hopefully help prevent crashes like the one that happened in 2008.
Applied to the internet, these systems would allow people to do searches much better than the ones on Google, and will have total privacy while doing them. Machine learning (which I’ll cover in a later post) and cyber security will e completely revolutionized. All this will make life much easier for big and small businesses alike.
4. They will advance science a lot
The potential these types of computers present for science is staggering. They are already used to further the scientific paradigm a lot, and it will only get better with time.
When applied in labs, the computational power of these systems can solve a lot of problems revolving around optimization, and machine learning. A lot of experimental physics problems are also instantly solved by these systems.
They also pack a lot of boons to healthcare. These systems can breeze through many of the scientific problems faced by scientists today. They can make targeted drug delivery plans to cancer cells, and create protein and gene models in the blink of an eye.
Universities have so far used these systems for bioinformatics, weather predictions, and other such purposes. When these systems go mainstream, research will explode on all areas.
5. They are basically unhackable
By pure laws of physics, using these computers, it’s possible to generate encryption algorithms that can NEVER be hacked in your lifetime, or your grandchildren’s, or their grandchildren.
If the system is built correctly (which is kinda tricky actually), you can render a system hack proof to all but the richest, smartest, most persistens hackers. In this world where tech attacks are running rampant, this cannot come fast enough.
So what now?
In all the topics that I’ve covered, I’ve shown how these computers offer nothing less than a complete revolution of any area they’re used on. When a technology does that, you know you’ve hit a motherload.
By all means, look up all the information you can about these systems. Within your lifetime, you will see them flourish and hit the mainstream. Your children will grow up with them, and wonder how we got along without them. And you know what? So will we.
This technology has some flaws that I didn’t quite shine the light on. I’ll leave it up to you, dear reader, to find them. I wont do all the work for you.
Anyway, I hope that I helped. If you enjoyed it, or have some questions or criticisms you’d like to make, sound off in the comments below! Consider following or upvoting if you want more content like this in the future :)