Quantum computing is a relatively new up-and-coming field of computing that smashes the concepts of quantum physics and Computer Science.
In this article, I'll introduce you to the concepts that drive this young,growing field with intuitive analogies and as always,colorful sketches and drawings. Information representation in classical computer science :
Classical CS involves the flow and manipulation of bits (binary digits)-the basic unit of informations in a computer.
It can hold the value of either 1 or 0, not both at the same time.
The 1 and 0 usually correspond to the charge of an atom on the hardware,which represents true/false or on/off states of a computer.
The change in these charges results in flipping of bits from 1 to 0 or vice-versa and allowing the information to flow from one location in memory to another.
Representing Information in Quantum Computing : In a traditional computer, information is represented using traditional bits that can only possess a value of 1 or 0 and not both at the same time. In quantum computers, we represent information using Qubits (quantum bits). We can represent Qubits using the bra-ket notations: |0⟩ or|1⟩, pronounced 'ket 0' and 'ket 1' respectively. Well, in Quantum Computing, the Qubit can have the values of both 1 and 0 simultaneously because of a process called Superposition. The curious case of Superposition: Superposition refers to a phenomenon where a particle or entity can exist in two states at the same time. It can exist as two things or exist in two different positions. For instance, let’s look at the Schrodinger’s Cat paradox. If you lock a cat inside a soundproof, inescapable bunker with some explosive material that may likely explode, the cat is in a Superposition of both dead and alive because you don’t know if the material really blew up or not (probably because the bunker is soundproof). The cat is technically both dead and alive so long as you don’t open the bunker and check. However, a quirky situation arises when an observer actually checks the state of an object in Superposition. In this case, reality collapses to one single outcome and it cannot exist in multiple states at the same time anymore. Similarly, if you can’t hold it in anymore and open the bunker, you may see that the cat is dead. Guess what? Your curiosity killed the cat… Or, the cat could still be alive when you check. When an observer (you, in this case) observes an object that was initially in Superposition, they will only see one of n-number of outcomes unfold in front of their eyes. As mentioned before, reality collapses to one of the outcomes. How is this related to Quantum Computing? A Qubit can exist in a Superposition, carrying the value of both 1 and 0 at the same time. This opens up a whole new world of possibilities for solving complex problems that requires lots of computational power. Traditional Logic Gates: In order to manipulate fundamental bits,they must be transformed by logic gates that either flips bits to another value or let them remain as they are. Some famous exmaple sof logic gates include AND,OR,NOT,XOR and NAND.They take pairs of bit values and transform them to either 1 or 0 depending on the functionality of the gate.
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