ColdFusion - How Quantum Computers Could Reshape Everything

Starting point is 00:00:00 Computers are getting a massive upgrade thanks to quantum physics. This upgrade is called quantum computing. So what are quantum computers? How do they work? And what do they mean for the future? In this video, we'll take a look. You are watching Tull Fusion TV. Quantum mechanics is a field of physics that studies the behavior of the most basic

Starting point is 00:00:29 and smallest parts of our universe at the subatomic level. Reality at this level is very different to the reality we experience every day. But it is reality nonetheless. In the quantum world, weird things happen. Things that scientists are just now starting to try and understand. Even Einstein referred to what goes on here as spooky. Superposition is the phenomenon where particles can be in two states at the same time. Imagine a coin that's spinning on a table.

Starting point is 00:00:58 At this present time, the outcome is both heads and tails at the same time. Now, imagine slamming your hand down over the coin, causing it to collapse into one outcome. either heads or tails. It's basically the same idea with quantum particles. Currently, computers use bits which are either a zero or a one to process information, but if we use quantum particles as data, something interesting happens. By using quantum particles called qubits and the property of superposition, they can read both as a zero or a one at the same time.

Starting point is 00:01:31 This makes the amount of data that can be represented exponentially greater. This allows quantum computers to process far more data than classical computers will ever be able to do. If a quantum computer had 100 cubits, it will be more powerful for some applications than all of the supercomputers on Earth combined. 300 cubits could hold more numbers simultaneously than there are atoms in the universe. So what could a billion cubits do? Entanglement is another phenomenon where two particles can be linked so that one particle

Starting point is 00:02:03 always gives the same outcome as the other. Imagine two quantum entangled dice. Even if they were separated on opposite sides of the Earth, or even universe, when rolled, they would show the same result as each other every single time. It's still being debated, but entangled particles could mean that communication could be instant, regardless of the distance between the particles. It could be great for security too, since it potentially doesn't use any physical infrastructure to transfer this information. This means that in the future, it may be impossible for communication to be intercepted or hacked without the knowledge of the information's owner. Classical computers use logic gates to run functions. These take inputs and produce an output.

Starting point is 00:02:47 This may produce as a one if both inputs are a one. And all gate produces a one if at least one of the inputs is a one. Quantum gates, however, can do a lot more. The gates entangle, change probabilities, and collapse superposition qubits to produce results. Simply put, they can run all possibilities at once. Normally, on a classical computer, it would check all of the probabilities one by one. This all means that quantum computers can find a solution much faster, especially on large

Starting point is 00:03:20 datasets. But it goes far beyond this. If you want to model the world, we can code the very rules of physics into its operations on qubits, just like we would use logic gate circuits on classical bits. It's an incredible idea. It's almost like coding pure physics into the fundamental essence of nature and reality. not just some mathematical approximation of reality like we do now. Next, we just hit play on the hyper-realistic simulation and see what happens.

Starting point is 00:03:49 Quantum computers could simulate our universe, allowing us to model new molecules in arrangement we haven't discovered and test them to find new materials. These new materials may help create other breakthroughs in science and engineering never before thought possible, from new batteries and energy sources to super-strong materials and incredibly effective medicines. So here is how it would work.

Starting point is 00:04:10 We all know that the world is built up of atoms and molecules, so if we could simulate those accurately, we're well on the way to a new paradigm. In the real world, molecules are formed when electron orbitals overlap. To accurately model real electrons, you need to keep track of the fact that they can exist in multiple states at once. Although this fact can be expressed as a probability or chance, it ends up being a real problem for classical systems. When the number of particles goes up, the number of possible particles goes up, the number of possible states grow exponentially. For 10 electrons, we'll need to track about a thousand possible states, but for a molecule with just 20 electrons, we'd have to keep track over a million different probability states. If we want to model a real physical system with millions of electrons,

Starting point is 00:04:55 things quickly get out of hand. Here's an example to put it all into context. A modern laptop can model 26 electrons, a supercomputer, 43 electrons, but what about a 50 electron system? Well, forget it. That's impossible for any classical computer in the future as far as humans will exist. Nature and reality itself is a quantum system, and it can't be modelled on a classical computer effectively. It all boils down to this. The information required to describe a quantum system can only be held by another quantum system. Because of their qubits, quantum computers are quantum in design, just like nature. They have no problem keeping up with nature's exponential complexity.

Starting point is 00:05:37 Consider the case of modelling different molecules. As you can see, when we get to molecules a bit more complex than benzene, the computational time to model them approaches infinity. For a quantum computer, all you have to do is just add more qubits and the computational time scales linearly with the problem. So to solve this, we'd just simply add on another 50 cubits or so. For each cubit added, a quantum computer gets exponentially more powerful. If a quantum computer had millions of qubits,

Starting point is 00:06:09 Just imagine what molecule interactions we could simulate. There's even proposals that quantum computers could predict climates accurately or for the first time accurately model the human brain. The possibilities are endless. So of course, if we come back to reality, the quantum computer is in its infancy, just like the classical computer was in the 1950s. Back then, classical computers took up a whole room, and a modern quantum computer is at the same stage.

Starting point is 00:06:35 There are still decades of breakthroughs remaining before any quantum computers are capable of creating some serious change. But the research is going ahead and not slowing down. So right now, we don't know what secrets of the universe we might unlock when we start simulating subatomic particles. The possible breakthroughs are as unknown as they are exciting. But one thing is certain, quantum computers hold the potential for a radical change in the progress of humanity,

Starting point is 00:06:59 just like the steam engine and the internet. And we could be looking back and marveling at just how simple our lives once were. So that just about wraps up our lives. look at quantum computers. So thanks for watching this video. This has been Degogo and you've been watching Cold Fusion. If you're interested in topics like this and much more, you should definitely consider subscribing. All right, so I'll catch you again soon for the next video. Cheers guys. Have a good one.

ColdFusion - How Quantum Computers Could Reshape Everything

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