Quantum computing isn’t for everyone… at the moment it is only a few who are involved and it could be a while before that changes.
Details
What is ‘quantum computing’, and how might it affect you?
Categories
Personal Interest
Technology
Computing
Quantum computing isn’t for everyone… at the moment it is only a few who are involved and it could be a while before that changes.
What is Quantum Computing?
Good question! Quantum computing – or as I might say – using weird particle behaviors to make super-powerful computers occurs at an increadibly small level. When you get down to those levels things act in strange ways. In our everyday world, if you throw a ball, you know where it’s going. But in the quantum world (the world of particles), if you throw something, it might end up in different places at once – until you look at it. It’s all a bit weird really!
I recently watched a video ‘Quantum Computing: Hype vs. Reality‘ and it aimed to explain what qunatum computing is, and how far we’ve got in terms of using it. I thought I’d sumarise in this post, but you too can watch the whole 45 mins conversation from the World Science Festival if you like!
You can watch the full video here: (or, feel free to skip the video and read my simplified summary below):
Some background information…
- Theoretical physics: It helps us understand big questions like, “How did the universe begin?” and “What are black holes?” This can help us discover new technologies in the future.
- Particle physics: Scientists use particle physics to make new medicines, discover new materials, and even understand how the sun shines.
- Quantum computing: Right now, quantum computers are still new, but they could help us do things like design better medicines, solve puzzles much faster, or even understand the weather better!
Things you need to know when you hear the phrase ‘Quantum Computing’ in 2024:
- There’s a lot we do understand and a lot we don’t understand in the realm of theoretical physics.
- Small quantum computers do exist now, and have been made to work (well, sort of anyway) Here’s an article about it from New Scientist: Record-breaking quantum computer has more than 1000 qubits – getting a completely error free QC is just one problem! A ‘qubit’ is the basic unit of information in quantum computing.
- To understand anything, you’ll need to know about theoretical physics, particle physics, quantum computing plus a whole lot about how Computing works in general.
OK, so how could all this actually affect your daily life now and in the future?
Well, at the moment not a much – except for wasting your time reading articles like this! The possibilities are that quantum computers in the future could have enormous capabilities for solving problems almost in an instant, even difficult problems that have previously been considered impossible to solve. For example, as mentioned earlier, to be able to design better medicines. However, scientists don’t yet know how easy it will be or how long it will take to scale the initial concepts to make much larger and more powerful quantum computers for use in everyday life.
But… this technology could also be used for all the wrong reasons. For example, imagine the highest level of computer encryption today – in theory quantum computers could crack the code in seconds – or less.
At this point there’s no knowing exactly when or how long it will take to create error free quantum computers in large numbers to be used to change everyday life… but as time moves on in the digital world development tends to exponentially grow. This is certainly true for traditional computers, but perhaps precisely due to their very chaotic nature, there will be less of an exponential increase but rather a series of random, chaotic leaps and bounds in the progress of quantum computer development instead.
You can see more of the latest computing related posts and information curated from across the internet by going to my Creative Bytes latest news pages – computing or technology.
More Projects
Let's Start Something new
Say Hello!
If you have just found me via a search, or someone has recommended me, I would love it if you could tell me a little about your vision or business and how you would like me to help you. You can also use this form to make a general enquiry about my services or ask me a question.