Can you explain quantum computing in a simple way?

Microsoft just unveiled a new chip called Majorana1 that it says will enable the creation of quantum computers able to solve "meaningful, industrial-scale problems in years, not decades".

Two months ago Google unveiled Willow, a chip that “can reduce errors exponentially as we scale up using more qubits” and can process a computation “in under five minutes that would take one of today’s fastest supercomputers 10 septillion (that is, 10²⁵) years — a number that vastly exceeds the age of the Universe”.

IBM has an order book for ]] of quantum computing services.

The list goes on.

I am still confused by quantum tbh. It’s that thing about a cat being dead or alive, but it is a superposition with entanglement. So, I asked the internet to tell me and found a useful breakdown here.

Let’s start with a qubit. Unlike traditional bits that are 1’s and 0’s, a qubit can be both at the same time. That’s a superposition and dates back to a scientific theory posed by Erwin Schrödinger to Albert Einstein about quantum mechanics, back in the 1930s. Schrödinger outlined the idea that a cat could be alive or dead at the same time.

The idea is that you put a cat in a box with poison and a radioactive source, you would only knew it was alive or dead when you opened the box. Before the box opened, it could be alive or dead, a 1 or a 0 in qubit computing terms.

A quantum bit, otherwise known as a qubit, is the basic unit of data in quantum computing. Like a binary bit in classical computers, as it can store information, but behaves very differently thanks to quantum mechanics.

Then there is quantum entanglement. What’s all that about?

In quantum entanglement, the states of subatomic particles are linked, regardless of how far apart they may be. Gaining information about a qubit will automatically provide information about its entangled particle.

Entangled particles are always in a correlated state. Consequently, if a property (such as spin) of one particle is measured, thus bringing it out of superposition, the same thing will also instantaneously happen to the entangled particle. Since the states of the two entangled particles are always correlated, knowing the state of one entangled particle means the state of the other can be inferred.

It's all very scientific and needs rocket scientists or, in this case, quantum sceintists to work it all out … and that is happening, as evidenced by the work of these technology firms to show how they can crack the quantum challenge.

To me, this is going to be bigger than AI in a few years, as it allows us to reinvent the whole of our technology structures today. By implementing this theory in quantum mechanics, you can build computers that can process information thousands of times faster at thousandths of the cost. That’s why Microsoft, Google and IBM are so excited about this technology, as are many banks.

This also means that a lot of what we have today in technology infrastructures – open finance, APIs, distributed ledger technology, mainframes and more – will become obsolete rapidly. That’s another reason why Microsoft, Google and IBM are so excited about this technology, as are many banks.

Finally, quantum mechanics might one day allow us to teleport things. Now that would be a thing!

For a simple breakdown of quantum computing, this article was useful. Meanwhile, if you are seriously nerdy like me about this stuff, here’s a great joke about it all:

Five quantum physicists are in a car. Heisenberg is driving like he is in The Matrix. Schrödinger is in the front seat waving at the other cars. Einstein and Bohr are in the back arguing while Everett sits between them daydreaming about another universe.

They get pulled over. The officer walks up to the driver’s side and asks Heisenberg, “Do you know how fast you were going?”

“No, but we know exactly where we are,” Heisenberg replies.

The officer looks confused and says, “You were going 120 km/h!”

Heisenberg throws his arms up and cries, “Great! Now we’re lost!”

The officer looks over the car and asks Schrödinger if they have anything in the trunk. “A cat,” Schrödinger replies.

The officer opens the trunk and yells, “This cat is dead!”

Schrödinger angrily replies, “Well it is now.”

Bohr says, “On the bright side, a moment ago, we didn’t have a position, speed, or a cat. Now we have all three!”

Fed up, the officer says, “I just want to know how many of you I need to bring back to the station!”

“Roll dice for it?” Einstein asks.

“That’s it. I’m bringing you all in!” The officer yells.

Everett jumps in the driver’s seat, hits the gas, and drives the car off a cliff. The officer can hear him trailing off, “We’ll survive somewhere in the multiverse!”

If you need this joke to be explained further, read on here ...