Technology has been changing and improving over time. From humans making tools out of stone for weapons, to Thomas Edison creating the light bulb, to computers etc. The newest technology out there that not many have heard about is a quantum computer.
David Deutsch (quantum physicist) came up with the quantum computer in the 1970’s to test the “Many Universes Theory.” The Many Universes Theory is the idea that there are a lot of parallel worlds that don’t interact with each other (Basically Multiverse). So far they don’t have evidence that quantum computers can prove this many universes theory, but it’s still possible.
Issac Chuang(electrical engineer and physicist) made the first quantum computer in 1998. The computer could input some data and output a solution. Chuang developed
the first lab demonstrations of quantum algorithms, such as a well known quantum algorithm, Shor’s quantum factoring algorithm.
Shor’s algorithm was made by Peter Shor (theoretical computer scientist). This algorithm knocks down big numbers into prime components easily. Now prime numbers
are very important, they are used in encryption (turning data into a code to further protect information) and decryption( turning encryptions back into its original form).
Another use for prime numbers according to the School of Quantum, is “In general terms, Shor’s algorithm allows us to find prime decomposition of very big numbers in O((logN)^3) time and O(logN) space.”
Quantum computing is a field that uses physics, computer science, mathematics, and quantum mechanics to figure out complicated problems. These computers can optimize the supply chain, enhance research and development, drug discovery (finding new effective and healthy medicines) and more. Even though quantum computers can do all these things, watch out they are sensitive to noise.
The D-Wave 2000Q quantum computer was made in 2017, has 2,000 qubits, and cost $15 millions. Based on Microsoft Azure, “a qubit (or quantum bit) is the basic unit of information in quantum computing” This computer can solve big problems faster.
NASA was affiliated with quantum computers, but they shut all of the computers down. Government officials were worried the computer could have connected with extraterrestrial intelligence or discovered an unknown world of computation.
Recently, Google has made a quantum chip called Willow. Willow’s chip has double the number of qubits than their previous chip. This is a big step for Google and quantum computers.
Based on some studies, a quantum computer needs about a couple million qubits. That’s a lot more qubits than the D-Wave and it’s probably going to be more expensive as well. On top of all of that, the quantum computer is assumed to be ready by 2035- 2040. This interesting computer has many things it can do, but it sounds like there is still much to improve. This is the future of computing, and one day it might change the world.