Fridays on Future Tech: The Boy came up on his Michael Dell Intel Pentium Brain now he runs 'Quantum'
Quantum computing is the study of a non-classical model of computation. Whereas traditional models of computing such as the Turing machine or Lambda calculus rely on "classical" representations of computational memory, a quantum computation could transform the memory into a quantum superposition of possible classical states. A quantum computer is a device that could perform such computation.
Quantum computing began in the early 1980s when physicist Paul Benioff proposed a quantum mechanical model of the Turing machine. Richard Feynman and Yuri Manin later suggested that a quantum computer could perform simulations that are out of reach for regular computers. In 1994, Peter Shor developed a polynomial-time quantum algorithm for factoring integers. This was a major breakthrough in the subject: an important method of asymmetric key exchange known as RSA is based on the belief that factoring integers is computationally difficult. The existence of a polynomial-time quantum algorithm proves that one of the most widely used cryptographic protocols is vulnerable to an adversary who possesses a quantum computer.
In most models of classical computation, the computer has access to memory. This is a system that can be found in one of a finite set of possible states, each of which is physically distinct. It is frequently convenient to represent the state of this memory as a string of symbols; most simply, as a string of the symbols 0 and 1. In this scenario, the fundamental unit of memory is called a bit and we can measure the "size" of the memory in terms of the number of bits needed to represent fully the state of the memory.
If the memory obeys the laws of quantum physics, the state of the memory could be found in a quantum superposition of different possible "classical" states. If the classical states are to be represented as a string of bits, the quantum memory could be found in any superposition of the possible bit strings. In the quantum scenario, the fundamental unit of memory is called a qubit.
Quantum computing began in the early 1980s when physicist Paul Benioff proposed a quantum mechanical model of the Turing machine. Richard Feynman and Yuri Manin later suggested that a quantum computer could perform simulations that are out of reach for regular computers. In 1994, Peter Shor developed a polynomial-time quantum algorithm for factoring integers. This was a major breakthrough in the subject: an important method of asymmetric key exchange known as RSA is based on the belief that factoring integers is computationally difficult. The existence of a polynomial-time quantum algorithm proves that one of the most widely used cryptographic protocols is vulnerable to an adversary who possesses a quantum computer.
In most models of classical computation, the computer has access to memory. This is a system that can be found in one of a finite set of possible states, each of which is physically distinct. It is frequently convenient to represent the state of this memory as a string of symbols; most simply, as a string of the symbols 0 and 1. In this scenario, the fundamental unit of memory is called a bit and we can measure the "size" of the memory in terms of the number of bits needed to represent fully the state of the memory.
If the memory obeys the laws of quantum physics, the state of the memory could be found in a quantum superposition of different possible "classical" states. If the classical states are to be represented as a string of bits, the quantum memory could be found in any superposition of the possible bit strings. In the quantum scenario, the fundamental unit of memory is called a qubit.
