The Current States of Quantum Computing

- Overview

Quantum computing is still in development, but it is becoming more commercial and mainstream:

• Market growth: The quantum computing market is expected to grow from $10.13 billion in 2022 to $125 billion by 2030.
• Business applications: Quantum hybrid optimization is already being used in businesses.
• Government involvement: The government is increasing its involvement in quantum computing, both in terms of investment and national security measures.
• Policy debates: There are more policy and ethics discussions surrounding national quantum policies.
• Recent experiments: Recent experiments have boosted the credibility of claims that useful quantum computers may be available as soon as 2029.

However, quantum computing still faces several challenges, including:

• Scalability: Scaling quantum computers to solve large, complex problems is difficult.
• Quantum error correction: Quantum computers are still prone to errors.
• Hardware limitations: The hardware and software needed to handle complex problems may not be available until 2035 or later.
• Security concerns: Quantum computers could break some widely used encryption schemes.
• Cost and accessibility: Quantum computers can be expensive and may not be accessible to everyone.

- Major Research Areas of Interest in Quantum Computing

Quantum computing exploits the quantum behavior of atoms, molecules and nanoelectronic circuits to enable a completely different and more powerful way of computing. Quantum computers promise to enable huge advances in information science and technology, with many potential applications ranging from simulating new drugs to designing materials.

Encryption is a major area of ​​interest, as the security industry believes that quantum computers can decrypt any existing encrypted archive almost instantly. IBM has been a leader in the development of quantum hardware, releasing quantum-resistant cryptographic algorithms in the hope of protecting data until quantum encryption is developed.

In networks, we are talking about quantum pairs that work together over infinite distances and can be used for faster-than-light communication. We are just beginning to explore the potential of this use of quantum technology, and while this could have huge implications for space exploration, the military, and transportation (remote control systems), as well as telepresence (surgery and other areas where latency may be an issue).

Applying quantum computing to the analysis of large-scale data sets will change the nature of supercomputers. However, viable quantum computers with sufficient operating capabilities remain elusive in the future, with their feasibility expected to be decades away. 

However, recent changes in how we think about quantum computers will bring that date closer, as these computers better leverage existing computing technology and put quantum computing on an equal footing with other technologies.

- Potential Strengths

Quantum computers certainly have potential. In theory, they can solve problems that classical computers cannot handle at all, at least in any realistic time frame. Take factorization. Finding prime factors for a given integer can be very time consuming, and the bigger the integer gets, the longer it takes. Indeed, the sheer effort required is part of what keeps encrypted data secure, since decoding the encrypted information requires one to know a “key” based on the prime factors of a very large integer. 

In 2009, a dozen researchers and several hundred classical computers took two years to factorize a 768-bit (232-digit) number used as a key for data encryption. The next number on the list of keys consists of 1024 bits (309 digits), and it still has not been factorized, despite a decade of improvements in computing power. A quantum computer, in contrast, could factorize that number in a fraction of a second – at least in principle.

Other scientific problems also defy classical approaches. A chemist, for example, might know the reactants and products of a certain chemical reaction, but not the states in between, when molecules are joining or splitting up and their electrons are in the process of entangling with each other. 

Identifying these transition states might reveal useful information about how much energy is needed to trigger the reaction, or how much a catalyst might be able to lower that threshold – something that is particularly important for reactions with industrial applications. The trouble is that there can be a lot of electronic combinations. 

To fully model a reaction involving 10 electrons, each of which has (according to quantum mechanics) two possible spin states, a computer would need to keep track of 2¹⁰= 1024 possible states. A mere 50 electrons would generate more than a quadrillion possible states. Get up to 300 electrons, and you have more possible states than there are atoms in the visible universe.  

Classical computers struggle with tasks like these because the bits of information they process can only take definite values of zero or one (1 or 0), and therefore can only represent individual states. In the worst case, therefore, states have to be worked through one by one. By contrast, quantum bits, or qubits, do not take a definite value until they are measured; before then, they exist in a strange state between zero and one, and their values are influenced by whatever their neighbours are doing. In this way, even a small number of qubits can collectively represent a huge “superposition” of possible states for a system of particles, making even the most onerous calculations possible.

- How Quantum Computing Transform the Future

In October 2022, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics to three scientists, Alan Aspect, John Clauser and Anton Zeilinger, in recognition of their research in quantum information science. Recently, a consortium of researchers from Caltech, Google, Fermilab, MIT, and Harvard used Google's Sycamore quantum processor to generate and control the equivalent of an Einstein-Rosen bridge or, more commonly, a bug Hole stuff, to the delight of Star Trek fans everywhere. 

Several companies are currently working on developing quantum computers or aspects of quantum computing, including Amazon (AMZN), AMD (AMD), Baidu (BIDU), IBM, Google, Honeywell (HON), Intel (INTC), Microsoft (MSFT), Quantum Computing (QUBT) and Toshiba (TOSBF), as well as private companies such as D-Wave Systems, Atom Computing, QC Ware and PASQAL. 

In 2021, IonQ (IONQ) will become the first quantum technology startup in history and the first pure quantum computing company to go public. In March 2022, Rigetti Computing (RGTI) went public on Nasdaq following its merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Supernova.

These companies are using a variety of approaches to build quantum computers, including superconducting qubits, trapped ion qubits, and photonic qubits. While quantum computers are still in the early stages of development, many believe they have the potential to revolutionize fields such as medicine, finance and materials science by providing faster and more powerful ways to solve complex problems. 

For example, as the world moves further towards renewable energy sources, the need for energy storage in the form of batteries is increasing. In order to improve batteries, we need to be able to test them, and battery simulations can be done much faster than actual testing, accelerating innovation. Their computing power will enable machine learning, making the kind of artificial intelligence (AI) we see in sci-fi movies a reality.

One problem quantum computing poses involves cybersecurity, which today is largely based on math-based cryptography. Today's systems work because the mathematical problems that provide protection are so complex that conventional computers cannot solve them in useful time. The "quantum threat" is that quantum computers will render these security systems obsolete. Some believe this could become a reality sometime between 2025 and 2030. Arqit Quantum (ARQQ) hopes to solve this problem by offering a quantum encryption platform as a service.

<More to come ..>