December 09, 2016
What is Quantum Computing ?
A traditional computer uses long strings of “bits,” which encode either a zero or a one. A quantum computer, on the other hand, uses quantum bits, or qubits. What's the difference? Well a qubit is a quantum system that encodes the zero and the one into two distinguishable quantum states. But, because qubits behave quantumly, we can capitalize on the phenomena of "superposition" and "entanglement."
Defining the Quantum Computer :
- The Turing machine, developed by Alan Turing in the 1930s, is a theoretical device that consists of tape of unlimited length that is divided into little squares. Each square can either hold a symbol (1 or 0) or be left blank. A read-write device reads these symbols and blanks, which gives the machine its instructions to perform a certain program. Well, in a quantum Turing machine, the difference is that the tape exists in a quantum state, as does the read-write head. This means that the symbols on the tape can be either 0 or 1 or a superposition of 0 and 1; in other words the symbols are both 0 and 1 (and all points in between) at the same time. While a normal Turing machine can only perform one calculation at a time, a quantum Turing machine can perform many calculations at once.
- Today's computers, like a Turing machine, work by manipulating bits that exist in one of two states: a 0 or a 1. Quantum computers aren't limited to two states; they encode information as quantum bits, or qubits, which can exist in superposition. Qubits represent atoms, ions, photons or electrons and their respective control devices that are working together to act as computer memory and a processor. Because a quantum computer can contain these multiple states simultaneously, it has the potential to be millions of times more powerful than today's most powerful supercomputers.
What is super position ?
Superposition is essentially the ability of a quantum system to be in multiple states at the same time — that is, something can be “here” and “there,” or “up” and “down” at the same time.
APPLICATIONS
- FASTER AND ACCURATE COMPUTING
- Just like a nuclear clock quantum computers have a very low margin of errors. As superposition is the foundation stone of quantum computing ,it allows simultaneous solution search for a particular problem definition and finds the best possible solution as per the resources available.
- OPTIMIZATION
- Imagine you are building a house, and have a list of things you want to have in your house, but you can’t afford everything on your list because you are constrained by a budget. What you really want to work out is the combination of items which gives you the best value for your money.
- Typically, these are very hard problems to solve because of the huge number of possible combinations. With just 270 on/off switches, there are more possible combinations than atoms in the universe!
- RADIOTHERAPY OPTIMIZATION
- Problems like optimizing cancer radiotherapy, where a patient is treated by injecting several radiation beams into the patient intersecting at the tumor, illustrates how the two systems can work together.
- The goal when devising a radiation plan is to minimize the collateral damage to the surrounding tissue and body parts – a very complicated optimization problem with thousands of variables. Using the quantum computer with an HPC system will allow faster convergence on an optimal design than is attainable by using HPC alone.
- PROTEIN FOLDING
- Simulating the folding of proteins could lead to a radical transformation of our understanding of complex biological systems and our ability to design powerful new drugs.
- With an astronomical number of possible structural arrangements, protein folding in an enormously complex computational problem. Scientific research indicates that nature optimizes the amino acid sequences to create the most stable protein - which correlates well to the search for the lowest energy solutions.
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