Quantum Computing
The Modern Computer
As we saw in the previous topic, the essential part of the computer is the processor and more and more as technology is increasing and engineering is improving in the area of computing, processors have become smaller and faster and with that the challenges to continue this same process of reducing and increasing capacity is the biggest challenge today.
One of the alternatives that came to solve this problem was the idea of the Quantum Computer. And what is a Quantum Computer? What makes it different from the Classic Computer (Common Computer)?
The main difference between a CQ (Quantum Computer) and a CC (Common Computer) is the way of processing. Like this?! As we have seen before and we are already familiar with the term "Quantum" is that the CQ will not simply operate with electrical currents but will operate exactly with atoms (Protons, Electrons, etc)!
Yummy 😂! I believe that some must already be asking themselves... "My God! What for?!" "I understand nothing more", it seems that things don't get any simpler as we move forward with this MQ subject, but don't despair! As much as the subject scares some and interests others, this is the fun part of learning and studying a specific subject. It's understanding and seeing your Application!
As the function of this site is to transpose the MQ as something "easier" for the public, this is not where this scheme will end lol. Take a deep breath and we will explain step by step in the simplest way possible.
The way CC works is with the "bits" (0's and 1's) and the sequence of these numbers alternating or not generating all the information we need to make use of the computer or any electronic device that it is. Not very different, CQ will use a similar form of bits, but a more complex and quite "optimizable" form, the famous "Qubit" (quantum bit).
Qubit is nothing more than the superposition of binaries (0 and 1), remember what we said about the superposition of waves in the MQ theme? Then! That's exactly how CQ's will process information. For whom still it is floating, the CQ works not simply by measuring if it has current (1) or if it has no current (0) but it does its processing through "Quantum" physical states that are measured through a property of elementary matter, mainly electrons, which is the called "Spin", that is, the CQ does not process the information with 1 or 0 but rather 1 and 0 at the same time, so (overlay).
Unlike CC which measures one bit at a time, it is either the number 1 or 0 , never both at the same time. By doing this, the processing possibility increases exponentially for extremely complex problems and tasks that require a very large amount of calculations and several processes and consequently to find these various possible solutions in fraction of a second. The two videos below will give you a clearer idea of how this works in practice. Note: Turn on subtitles!
How to create a Qubit
How to create a quantum computer
Mathematics behind the Quantum Computer
In short, the computer manipulates elementary particles. And the way we control these elementary particles allows us to make complex calculations that require several steps in a matter of hours or minutes. The production of this information at the atomic level is called Qubit and it is produced by controlling an intrinsic property of the electron, as shown in the first video.
The manipulation of this Spin is done with the immersion of this particle in an electromagnetic field, where this field emits a frequency, called the resonant frequency. The resonance frequency is nothing more than applying a vibration similar to the natural vibration of a certain material or particle, and when this frequency reaches the target object, it will make it excited (increase its energy) and begin to vibrate in the normal mode. that we want.
The interesting thing about doing this with the electron is that we cause a superposition of states as explained in the second video, the CC only allows the bits to be only in 0 and 1, the Qubit is a "limbo" it manages to be in intermediate values between these two values such as (0,1 ; 0.59; 0.90, etc...). This allows, through a software designed for the QC, to interpret more complex and extensive results in a very reduced time compared to a conventional computer.
As we saw in the second video, Qubits for example |01> ; |10> when superimposed will present their states in a fraction of the time, that is, the alternation of these values varies according to the time passes, therefore, the CQ is also a very "fragile" system because any external variation in this system can completely modify the information, and not only the presence of external factors but also the time these states remain until measured are extremely fast, which makes the measurement process is also a challenge.
And in case you haven't noticed clearly in the previous videos you must be wondering... "Ta! A super fast computer that controls vibrations of an electron to do complex calculations... so what? How practical is this all? Would this super computer only serve to do complicated math?
The short answer is yes and no! The advantage of having a CQ is indeed because of its ability to make calculations much superior compared to the CC, but it is precisely in this advantage that certain areas of scientific knowledge that involve several variables, extensive problems and with many possibilities to be solved, the CQ would do this job in a matter of minutes.
There are several examples for applying this type of computation to solve problems, such as weather forecasting. The variables to understand the Earth's atmosphere are so many that when we see on the news the newspaper announces a Probability of rain and never a certainty, there is a 30% chance of raining in São Paulo, on such a day and as in fact we have already experienced it, as much as the newspaper says it will rain in one day, maybe it really won't.
Why does it happen?! Simply because of the complexity of the atmospheric system, and this complexity is in the amount of factors that influence the atmosphere to cause, for example, a rain, be it atmospheric pressure, temperature in the specific region, air density, air humidity, pressure differences in other regions that affect the region in which it is measured, and so on. Decimal places in calculations like these make a difference astronomical, and the more decimal places, the smaller the margin of error in predicting dynamic phenomena such as weather.
Amazing isn't it?! By now with all this information passed on to you, you might be asking yourself "Ta! So in the future will all computers become quantum?" The answer is that we don't know and we can't say anything yet. As already mentioned in some of the videos, CQ does not completely replace the computers we have today, but it is guaranteed that for specific tasks that we have already mentioned, CQ has a ridiculously higher performance than CC, so CQ's are in fact the next evolution of computing and all that goes with it. As also mentioned about cryptography, in the not too distant future, everything that we currently consider to be protected by encrypted systems will be threatened by a CQ, but as shown in the Nerdologia video, studies are already being carried out on quantum cryptography, precisely to supply this security breach with this new type of computing.
The communication process also when these CQ's are manufactured on a large scale, the way they exchange information with each other will be completely different from the current communication, using photons (light) and a consequence of the quantum theory called "Quantum Entanglement" or " Quantum Entanglement". Of course, the formal concept is quite far-fetched and it is not up to us to understand it perfectly now and here, but the idea is that when two particles Subatomic structures are very close to each other, their properties are connected (it is not yet known how and why this happens), but this phenomenon has already been tested numerous times and experimentally proven (In additional videos there will be videos explaining it better).
For example, let's take an elementary particle that we will call P1 and another P2, when we put these two particles together, their properties are linked, to understand the entanglement quantum, let's separate these two particles at a very large distance, let's take P2 and put it on Neptune's surface for example, (Neptune's distance from Earth is approx. 4,504,300,000 km). According to this entanglement theory, if we make any change to the P1 particle that stayed with us on Earth that is linked in an unknown way with the P2 particle on Neptune, this P2 particle will respond with the opposite effect. instantly! That is, this phenomenon apparently ignored the Theory of Relativity which says that the limiting speed in the universe is the speed of light (300,000 km/s). For this reason the creator of the Theory of Relativity, Albert Einstein called this phenomenon such as (Ghostly Action Ranged). Remembering that even though this phenomenon has already been proven true with experiments, it does not invalidate the Theory of Relativity. Only we are dealing with phenomena of extremely different dimensions, in which the theory of relativity does not apply.
Applying this to communication between computers such as the Internet as we know it today, there is a chance if you are not using a secure connection from a someone is spying on and snooping on all your conversation, information and internet usage. Now for the CQ's the communication can be done with these entangled photons. According to the theory, any noise (or external agent that wants to interfere, such as in the context of communication and the internet) the information is completely scrambled and unrecognizable, and if not even annihilated, for this reason the QC's can be the next generation of computers more secure and integrity in terms of privacy with their information and for some experts a virtually inviolable system.
So far, it is hoped that you, reader, have understood the impact that Quantum Theory has on our current society, we depend on it constantly and its applications are found in the most diverse areas of knowledge, whether materials engineering, chemistry, chemical engineering, engineering military, medicine, pharmaceutical industry, among many other examples where it is widely applied. what is expected you at the end of this didactic material is to have understood the whole process of construction of the quantum theory, understand the main ideas and theories behind these phenomena and of course understand where they apply, and maybe have at least aroused your interest in the subject, because who knows, in the not too distant future you will be the one who will discover the next one. theory that will shake the scientific concepts of modern science?!