What is Quantum Computing?

Quantum Computing is a technology that has been studied for the last few years. In this article, I share the meaning and what this new technology, which is expected to bring significant advantages in terms of personal and corporate benefits,

Quantum Computing, for which preparation and first application studies are being carried out today, is shown as one of the technologies that will shape the future. We will give some concrete examples to understand Quantum Computing, which has the potential to solve some problems that are impossible to solve on today's supercomputers, but first, it is useful to make a conceptual introduction.

We live in a world where classical physics defines our experiences and intuition, and ultimately the way we process information. However, at the atomic level, nature is governed by different rules, which we know as quantum mechanics. Today's classical computers are insufficient to solve problems in nature that play a role in quantum mechanics (for example, understanding the behavior of molecules).

To overcome this, Richard Feynman proposed in 1981 to produce computers according to the rules of quantum mechanics. More than 30 years later, IBM is helping make this a reality.

What is Quantum Computing?

Quantum computing works significantly differently than today's computers. A classical computer processes information using bits, where each bit represents either zero or 1. A qubit, on the other hand, can represent 1, 0, or both at the same time. This is called “superposition”. This feature, among other quantum effects, allows quantum computers to perform some calculations much faster than normal computers.

Most of the quantum computing research in academia and industry focuses on creating a universal quantum computer. Some of the key hurdles faced are creating high-quality qubits and assembling them in a scalable manner; thus, complex calculations can be performed in an auditable manner.

 Significant progress has been made in the studies

IBM is using superconducting qubits made with superconducting metals on a silicon chip, which can be designed and manufactured using standard silicon fabrication techniques. Last year, scientists at IBM achieved groundbreaking success in detecting quantum errors by combining superconducting qubits, the only physical architecture that can reach larger sizes in caged and quantum circuit designs.

Scientists at IBM have made a further advance by combining five qubits in the lattice architecture. This illustrates the basic process known as parity measurement, which is the basis of many quantum error correction protocols. This path towards universal quantum computing depends on the success of correcting quantum errors, and the IBM team has taken another important step on this difficult path.

What will quantum computers provide?

A universal quantum computer will be much faster than classical computers for many important applications in science and business, as well as being a computer that can be programmed to perform any computing operation.

Regarding the quantum computer, which is not currently in use, IBM predicts that medium-sized quantum processors consisting of 50-100 qubits can be built within the next 10 years. Considering that the top 500 supercomputers today cannot approach the speed of a quantum computer with only 50 qubits, the extraordinary potential of the technology becomes evident.

The community of scientists and theorists interested in quantum computing is trying to benefit from this power. Applications in the field of optimization and chemistry stand out as the first areas where rapid development in the quantum field is seen.

As Moore's Law runs out of steam, quantum computing will be among the technologies that can usher in a new era of innovation across sectors. This advancement in computing will enable the discovery of new pharmaceutical drugs and can completely protect cloud computing systems. On the other hand, in the future, it will be able to reveal new faces of artificial intelligence such as more powerful Watson technologies, develop new material science that will transform industries, and search large volumes of big data.