The Change Mariner

Quantum Computing's Strange World

Information Week:

Qubits used in the experiments can spin clockwise and counterclockwise simultaneously, embodying both 0 and 1, in a phenomenon called superposition. Measuring the system causes the superposition to collapse, yielding answers to computations. Two qubits physically separate in space can be entangled, so the fate of one affects the other--even over great distances. Scientists can coax those quantum bits into performing simple computations using magnetic fields or laser pulses. Each atom is like a tiny switch capable of performing two calculations at once.

That means exponentially higher performance than an electronic computer: Two atoms can perform four computations at the same time, three atoms eight. A quantum computer of 10 qubits could perform 1,024 simultaneous calculations. Twenty qubits would be able to execute a million simultaneous computations; 40, 10 trillion. Mathematicians have proven that a quantum computer with thousands of atoms could find quickly the factors of numbers hundreds of digits long, a feat that would take conventional supercomputers billions of years.

Quantum computers wouldn't perform all tasks better, but for problems where algorithms can be designed--factoring and database searching, for example--the promise is mind-boggling.

Posted by Bob King at May 10, 2004 01:44 AM | TrackBack
Related Categories: Area - Tech - Semiconductors | Industry - Semiconductor | Quadrant - Technological

Quest for the Quantum Computer
Simon & Schuster

Amazon Price: $11.20

The Fabric of Reality : The Science of Parallel Universes and Its Implications
Penguin (Non-Classics)

Amazon Price: $10.88

A Shortcut Through Time : The Path to the Quantum Computer
Knopf

Amazon Price: $16.32

Quantum Computation and Quantum Information
Cambridge University Press

Amazon Price: $51.39