IT 104 Quantum Computation

Quantum Computation

Information in classical computation is encoded in bits; bits are digitally represented by 1s and 0s, and physically represented by electric gateways that open or close known as transistors. At the atomic scale, these gateways fail, as electrons bypass closed transistors through the process of quantum tunneling. Quantum computation overcomes this limitation and utilizes quantum mechanics to increase computation speed.

In quantum computation, qubits replace bits and transistors are replaced by polarized photons. Qubits exponentially increase computation speed by a factor of two per qubit, due to superpositoning and quantum entanglement. Superpositioning allows photons to hold both states, 1 and 0, concurrently until measured, this means multiple algorithms may be computed simultaneously. Quantum entanglement "links" photons together in such a way that information about all "linked" photons may be known by observing one.

Impact of Quantum Computation

Current Use

Quantum computation is still in development with limited use, primarily in research of physics and cyber security. D-Wave, a quantum computer manufacturer, unveiled the D-Wave 2000Q, a 2048-qubit system in early 2017. It was sold toa security firm, Temporal Defense Systems, for $15 million, "to solve some of the most critical and complex cyber security problems impacting government and commercial enterprises." At CES 2018, Intel announced its silicon-chip based 49-qubit system, a significant leap forward from their 17-qubit system from October 2017.

Security Aspects

Quantum computing is a major security risk as one of its strongest applications being in cryptography. Current encryption methods, which is nigh-impossible to break with classical computation, can be brute forced in minutes. Quantum-safe cryptography is in development and its use may be difficult to implement; a promising possibility is the use of random polarities of photons. This method is encryption is vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks, but theoretically unbreakable.

Ethics and Social Implications

As with any new technology, quantum computing drastically changes any field it has applications. It will greatly give an edge to individuals or corporations that can afford it in areas like the stock market or in bitcoin. This edge might dissolve jobs and put organizations without the financial capital to invest in quantum computation out of business. The code-breaking potential of quantum computers will also raise concerns in cyber security and internet privacy.

Future Use

First and foremost, quantum computation has use in research of particle physics and the development of quantum computation itself; quantum computation will see use in molecular modeling too. Artificial intelligence is an ideal field for application, quickening machine learning and the growth of neural networks. Faster computation will lead to more accurate models of financial markets, which is vital for investors and traders, and weather forecasts, which is of use to industries directly or indirectly affected by weather patterns. Lastly, as mentioned in security aspects, cryptography, as a quantum computer can try potentially millions of possible inputs simultaneously.