Understanding Quantam Computing
Quantum Computing is something that could have been thought up a long time ago - an idea whose time has come. For any physical theory one can ask: what sort of machines will do useful computation? or, what sort of processes will count as useful computational acts? Alan Turing thought about this in 1936 with regard (implicitly) to classical mechanics, and gave the world the paradigm classical computer: the Turing machine.
But even in 1936 classical mechanics was known to be false. Work is now under way - mostly theoretical, but tentatively, hesitantly groping towards the practical - in seeing what quantum mechanics means for computers and computing.
In a trivial sense, everything is a quantum computer. (A pebble is a quantum computer for calculating the constant-position function - you get the idea.) And of course, today's computers exploit quantum effects (like electrons tunneling through barriers) to help do the right thing and do it fast. For that matter, both the computer and the pebble exploit a quantum effect - the "Pauli exclusion principle", which holds up ordinary matter against collapse by bringing about the kind of degeneracy we call chemistry - just to remain stable solid objects. But quantum computing is much more than that.
The most exciting really new feature of quantum computing is quantum parallelism. A quantum system is in general not in one "classical state", but in a "quantum state" consisting (crudely speaking) of a superposition of many classical or classical-like states. This superposition is not just a figure of speech, covering up our ignorance of which classical-like state it's "really" in. If that was all the superposition meant, you could drop all but one of th...
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...f how this exponential improvement might be possible, we review an elementary quantum mechanical experiment that demonstrates where such power may lie hidden [5]. The two-slit experiment is prototypic for observing quantum mechanical behavior: A source emits photons, electrons or other particles that arrive at a pair of slits. These particles undergo unitary evolution and finally measurement. We see an interference pattern, with both slits open, which wholely vanishes if either slit is covered. In some sense, the particles pass through both slits in parallel. If such unitary evolution were to represent a calculation (or an operation within a calculation) then the quantum system would be performing computations in parallel. Quantum parallelism comes for free. The output of this system would be given by the constructive interference among the parallel computations.
The novel, Alice and Quantum Land, by Robert Gilmore is an adventure in the Quantum universe. Alice, a normal teenage girl, goes through quantum land and understands what quantum is and how it works. The quantum world is a difficult one to understand, as its nature is one of complex states of being, natures, principles, notions, and the like. When these principles or concepts are compared with the macro world, one can find great similarities and even greater dissimilarities between the world wherein electrons rule, and the world wherein human beings live. In Alice in Quantumland, author Robert Gilmore converts the original tale of Alice in Wonderland from a world of anthropomorphic creatures into the minute world of quantum mechanics, and attempts to ease the reader into this confusing world through a series of analogies (which comprise an allegory) about the principles of quantum mechanics. Through Alice’s adventure she comes across some ideas or features that contradict real world ideas. These ideas are the following: Electrons have no distinguishing spin, the Pauli Exclusion Principle, Superposition, Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, and Interference and Wave Particle Duality.
The study of neurobiology has long involved the actions and interactions among neurons and their synapses. Changes in concentrations of various ions carry impulses to and from the central nervous system and are responsible for all the information processed by the nervous system as a whole. This has been the prominent theory for many years, but, now, there is a new one to be reckoned with; the Quantum Brain Theory (QBT). Like many new theories, the QBT has merits and flaws. Many people are wholeheartedly sold on it; however, this vigor might be uncalled for. Nevertheless, this could prove to be a valid and surprisingly accurate theory of brain function.
Quantum Mechanics This chapter compares the theory of general relativity and quantum mechanics. It shows that relativity mainly concerns that microscopic world, while quantum mechanics deals with the microscopic world.
Turing earned a fellowship at King’s college and the following year the Smith’s Prize for his work in probability theory. Afterward, he chose a path away from pure math into mathematical logic and began to work on solving the Entscheidungsproblem, a problem in decidability. This was an attempt to prove that there was a method by which any given mathematical assertion was provable. As he began to dive in to this he worked on first defining what a method was. In doing so he began what today is called the Turing Machine. The Turing Machine is a three-fold inspiration composed of logical instructions, the action of the mind, and a machine which can in principle be embodied in a practical physical form. It is the application of an algorithm embodied in a finite state machine.
...e and codes. With the continued advancement in computer technology, this entire argument though seemingly convincing, may in the future become a mute point. It is interesting that this argument has generated so much interest over the years. Undoubtedly, this argument is not with without fault yet, it still stands to substantiate beliefs that computers are not cognitively independent.
Years later in 1956 John Von Neumann would develop one of the most influential computers called the JOHNNIAC (John V. Neumann Integrator and Computer). The JOHNNIAC was an early effort at AI prog...
Although the majority of people cannot imagine life without computers, they owe their gratitude toward an algorithm machine developed seventy to eighty years ago. Although the enormous size and primitive form of the object might appear completely unrelated to modern technology, its importance cannot be over-stated. Not only did the Turing Machine help the Allies win World War II, but it also laid the foundation for all computers that are in use today. The machine also helped its creator, Alan Turing, to design more advanced devices that still cause discussion and controversy today. The Turing Machine serves as a testament to the ingenuity of its creator, the potential of technology, and the glory of innovation.
The most common refutation to the notion of mental states in digital computers is that there are inherent limits of computation and that there are inabilities that exist in any algorithm to...
Artificial intelligence is a concept that has been around for many years. The ancient Greeks had tales of robots, and the Chinese and Egyptian engineers made automations. However, the idea of actually trying to create a machine to perform useful reasoning could have begun with Ramon Llull in 1300 CE. After this came Gottfried Leibniz with his Calculus ratiocinator who extended the idea of the calculating machine. It was made to execute operations on ideas rather than numbers. The study of mathematical logic brought the world to Alan Turing’s theory of computation. In that, Alan stated that a machine, by changing between symbols such as “0” and “1” would be able to imitate any possible act of mathematical
The date is April 14, 2035 a young woman is woken up by the silent alarm in her head. She gets up and steps into her shower where the tiles sense her presence and calculate the water to the precise temperature that she likes. The news flashes in her eyes announcing that today is the tenth anniversary of the day quantum computing was invented. She gets dressed and puts on her favorite hat with a smartband embedded in the rim, allowing her access to anything she needs just by thinking it. Her car is waiting with her trip preprogrammed into it. She arrives at the automated airport to see her associate waiting for her. By the look in his eyes she can tell he is doing a quick online search in his mind. Technology is constantly growing and soon this future will be a reality.
During the seventeenth century, the modern science of physics started to emerge and become a widespread tool used around the world. Many prominent people contributed to the build up of this fascinating field and managed to generally define it as the science of matter and energy and their interactions. However, as we know, physics is much more than that. It explains the world around us in every form imaginable. The study of physics is a fundamental science that helps the advancing knowledge of the natural world, technology and aids in the other sciences and in our economy. Without the field of physics, the world today would be a complete mystery, everything would be different because of the significance physics has on our life as individuals and as a society.
Finally in 2012 Feynman’s thought-experiment had been accurately carried out by a team of researchers. The team managed to “show a full realization of Feynman’s thought experiment and illustrate key features of quantum mechanics: interference and the wave-particle duality of matter.”
As far as computers in the future, I feel that they are going to play a major role. They will be in everyday life, in everything we do. There will be many areas affected by the wide use of computers. Areas such as: home, work, schools, automobiles, electronics, and humans. Although these areas are already affected, they will be even more as we move into the future.
Almost every device has some type of computer in it. Whether it is a cell phone, a calculator, or a vending machine. Even things that we take for granted most cars since the 1980’s have a computer in it or a pacemaker. All of the advancements in computers and technology have led up to the 21st century in which “the greatest advances in computer technology will occur…” Mainly in areas such as “hardware, software, communications and networks, mobile and wireless connectivity, and robotics.”
However, between 1850 and 1900 there were great advances in mathematics and physics that began to rekindle the interest (Osborne, 45). Many of these new advances involved complex calculations and formulas that were very time consuming for human calculation.