Introduction to Quantum Computing

05Aug08

Quantum computing is a hype that has been alive for the last 20 or so years. Like any hyped technology, people are prone to exaggerate the benefits, ignore the downsides and they generally tend to project a future image that is all bright and shiny thanks to this new technology. This is no different for quantum computing and examples of this believe are found aplenty. 

Some of these misconceptions are in fact quite small. For example, it is a wide-spread believe that a quantum bit can do so much more since it can hold two bits of data instead of one. While being incorrect, it is not entirely a lie. The confusion arises from the notation that is used to describe quantum bits:

\vert\Phi\rangle = \alpha_{0} \vert 0 \rangle + \alpha_{1} \vert 1 \rangle 

I would have to agree that this definition seems daunting. However, when looking at it more closely, it is actually saying nothing more than that a quantum bit will, with some probability \alpha_i^2 , be 0. If it is not 0, it is 1. But isn’t this true for an ordinary bit as well? The only difference is that an ordinary bit is 0 with either 0% or 100% chance since it can only take on either 0 or 1. Thus all one can say is that a quantum bit is an extension of a normal bit with some statistical probability associated to it (though granted, this statistical probability allows for some nifty things to be done).

So, what is quantum computing then all about? That is what this paper is written for. It introduces the field of quantum computing in a not overly extremely daunting way and it debunks a lot of the myths and rumors that one comes across when looking for information regarding quantum computing. Nevertheless, it does show you how wonderful the world of quantum computing is. Discover how the Mach-Zehnder interferometer works, even tough this is nothing like you would anticipate. And learn how to search even faster through an unordered collection of data.

To read the full paper and immerse yourself in the wonderfully strange world of quantum computing, please click here.


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