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In a world dominated by hard rules, quantum computing is subverting the information technology industry. This is an emerging technology that offers the potential to improve our lives in many ways. It enables us to perform the same tasks that today's computers take months or years to perform in days or weeks.

The idea behind quantum computers is the fantasy world of quantum physics. Quantum mechanics is a field of physics that describes objects that cannot be accurately predicted by classical physics. The core behind quantum computing is the ability to control and use qubits, which are the smallest unit of information. These units can exist in multiple states at the same time, and when they are intertwined, they can share information immediately. Quantum computing essentially uses quantum properties to calculate and process numbers, which can not be realized by traditional computers.

01. The history of quantum computing

The history of quantum computing is very interesting because it was originally a theoretical concept. The basic idea behind quantum computers is that they do not follow the normal rules of causality. According to the law of quantum mechanics, particles have the properties of both waves and particles.

Particles are like waves at the subatomic level, which means that quantum information is encoded by probability, and the state of particles is represented by probability waves. The wave function can represent multiple possible results at a given time. Because these probabilities are constantly changing, the behavior of quantum objects can change over time, or at least appear to change.

Quantum computing was introduced in 1925 and the first quantum computer was built in 1927. Many researchers have been trying to build better quantum computers. However, the first quantum computer took decades to build.

Although the concept of quantum computing has been around for nearly half a century, it was not until the 1990s that the technology reached a level that could become practical. A breakthrough was made in 1994, when a team of researchers from IBM, Bell Laboratories and the University of New Mexico developed a five-qubit quantum computer using superconducting flux qubits.

Qubits are made by building a special Josephson structure into a superconductor. The team demonstrated the first quantum algorithm, which performs better than classical computers, proving that the technology is feasible.

02. Entering the traditional quantum computer is a strict digital computer, which completely depends on the classical computing principles and properties. On the other hand, quantum computers are strict qubit computers. Therefore, they depend on quantum principles and properties-most importantly superposition and entanglement. This makes them able to solve seemingly insurmountable problems, almost miraculously different from what they used to be.

Coincidence to understand the concept of superposition, let's consider the simplest system: a two-state system. An ordinary classical two-state system is like a switch, it is always in one state (on) or another state (off). However, two-state quantum systems are quite another matter.

Whenever you measure its state, you will find that it is either on or off, just like a classic system. But between measurements, quantum systems can be superimposed on and off at the same time, no matter how counterintuitive or even supernatural it seems to us.

Source of coincidence: in general, physicists at the IBM Institute believe that it is pointless to talk about the state of a quantum system (such as its spin) before measuring it. Some people even think that the behavior of measuring a quantum system itself will cause it to collapse from an uncertain fuzzy state to the value you measure (on or off, up or down).

It may be impossible to imagine, but there is no escape from the fact that this mysterious phenomenon is not only real, but also creates a new dimension of problem-solving ability, paving the way for quantum computers.

The concept of superposition may even be beyond the scope of this article, but believe that it has been proved to be correct. If you want to understand what causes superposition, you first need to understand the concept of wave / particle duality.

Entangled, move on to the next attribute of quantum mechanics, and we need to use it to create quantum computers.

It is well known that once two quantum systems interact with each other, they become hopelessly entangled companions. From then on, the state of one system will provide you with accurate information about the state of another system, no matter how far apart the two are.

To tell you the truth, these two systems can be light-years apart, but they can still provide you with accurate and instant information about each other. Let's use a concrete example to illustrate this point, because it even makes Einstein wonder how this is possible. (Einstein called this phenomenon "long-distance ghost action")

The source of quantum entanglement: the IBM Institute assumes that there are two electrons, An and B. Once they are allowed to interact in the right way, their rotations are automatically entangled. From then on, if A's spin is up, B's spin will be down, just like two children on a seesaw, even if An and B are brought to both ends of the earth (or the Milky way, for that matter).

Although they are thousands of miles (or light-years) apart, it turns out that if you measure A's spin up, you will immediately know that B's spin is down.

We have learned that these systems do not have the exact values of states such as spins, but exist in fuzzy superposition states before measurement. This is what is needed to use a computer for calculation. Quantum computers perform calculations in a completely different way, using the concepts of superposition and entanglement.

The role of qubits in quantum computing is the same as that in classical computing: it is the basic unit of information.

Although both bits and qubits generate one of the two states (0 or 1) as a result of calculation, qubits can be in both 0 and 1 states before this result.

Just as traditional computers are built little by little with on or off transistors, quantum computers are built from spin-state electrons, qubits by qubits, either up or down. Just as transistors in the on / off state are strung together to form a logic gate for performing classical calculations in a digital computer, electrons in the upper / lower spin state are strung together to form a quantum gate for performing quantum computation in a quantum computer.

Because the storage of information is based on quantum physics rather than classical computing, scientists say the technology can perform some calculations faster than traditional computers. it can even solve problems such as decomposing large numbers and cracking passwords faster than existing computers.

Source of quantum algorithm: IBM Research Institute 04. Conclusion Quantum computing revolution is taking place. We have just entered a new era of computing. Next-generation computing is not the next-generation hardware, but the next-generation algorithms and computing methods.

Quantum computers use the principles of quantum mechanics to solve problems. Compared with classical computers, the state of quantum systems is probabilistic in nature. This means that quantum computers can handle many times as many calculations as traditional computers.

This article comes from the official account of Wechat: new Research (ID:chuxinyanjiu), author: Jason Roell, compiled by Tang Poetry

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