Here’s What You Really Need To Know About Quantum Computing
Every once in a while, a technology comes along with so much potential that people can’t seem to stop talking about it. That’s fun and exciting, but it can also be confusing. Not all of the people who opine really know what they’re talking about and, as the cacophony of voices increases to a loud roar, it’s hard to know what to believe.
We’re beginning to hit that point with quantum computing. Listen to some and you imagine that you’ll be strolling down to your local Apple store to pick one up any day now. Others will tell you that these diabolical machines will kill encryption and bring global commerce to a screeching halt. None of this is true.
What is true though is that quantum computing is not only almost unimaginably powerful, it is also completely different than anything we’ve ever seen before. You won’t use a quantum computer to write emails or to play videos, but the technology will significantly impact our lives over the next decade or two. Here’s a basic guide to what you really need to know.
Computing In 3 Dimensions
Quantum computing, as any expert will tell you, uses quantum effects such as superposition and entanglement to compute, unlike digital computers that use strings of ones and zeros. Yet quantum effects are so confusing that the…
