Just like the oldest computer a.k.a the ENIAC also termed as the “Giant Brain” by the press of that time, quantum computers are here and already deployed in several fields of study and research. They occupy a very big space mainly to cater to their stabilization and cooling systems during the action. This was the same many years ago when ENIAC was built but take a look at what we have now on its hybrid classic computers we operate now.
As we speak, Quantum computers are getting a lot more real and all Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Rigetti Computing and IBM made important advances last year 2019 that could help bring computers governed by the weird laws of atomic-scale physics into your life in other ways.
But what is a Quantum Computer and why should I be concerned?
We use classical computers in our day to day lives, which include everything from today’s smartwatches to supercomputers that occupy entire buildings, that store data as bits that represent either a 1 or a 0. Quantum computers use a different approach called qubits that can represent a combination of 1 and 0 through an idea called superposition.
While classical computers process every solution one by one basis with either a 0(off) or one(on) result at a time following priority and as programed, With Quantum computers multiple qubits can be linked, letting quantum computers explore lots of possible solutions to a problem at once for faster results. With each new qubit added, a quantum computer can explore double the number of possible solutions, an exponential increase not possible with classical machines.
Quantum computers, however, are finicky. It’s hard to get qubits to remain stable long enough to return useful results. The act of communicating with qubits can perturb them. Engineers hope to add error correction techniques, so quantum computers can tackle a much broader range of problems.
Plenty of people are still quantum computing doubters. Even some fans of the technology acknowledge we’re years away from high-powered quantum computers. But already, quantum computing is a real business. Samsung, Daimler, Honda, JP Morgan Chase and Barclays are all quantum computing customers. Spending on quantum computers should reach hundreds of millions of dollars in the 2020s, and tens of billions in the 2030s
What will quantum computers do?
Right now, quantum computers are used mostly in research. But real-world deployment of these computers is likely coming. The power of quantum computers is expected to allow for the creation of new materials, chemical processes and medicines by giving awareness into the physics of molecules. Quantum computers will also help for greater optimization of financial investments, delivery routes and flights by crunching the numbers in situations with as many choices as possible.
They’ll also be used for cracking today’s encryption, an idea spy agency love, even if you might be concerned about losing your privacy or some snoop getting your password. New cryptography adapted for a quantum computing future is already underway.
Another promising application is artificial intelligence, though that may be years in the future.
Quantum computers are not sci-fi anymore, IBM offers access to the most advanced quantum computers for you to do real work.
To learn, develop, and run quantum programs on the IBM Quantum Experience cloud platform.
Visit IBMid
