Quantum Computing And The Meaning Of Life—Not Just ‘42’
But what exactly is quantum computing?

To understand why it’s so incredible, one must look at the difference between a quantum computer and a regular computer. A regular computer works by switching millions of tiny transistors between 1 and 0, or “on” and “off”.

The computer can only tell each transistor to either let an electric current pass or not. There’s no other way and no in-between. So a computer has to switch through the different combinations, one by one.

First, it’s for example 1000101, then 0101101 and then 1100100. These three random numbers already represent 3 different setups and have to occur in order. The computer can not make all 3 of them simultaneously. And though coming up with these 3 will only take the computer a few nanoseconds, having to go through billions of combinations with a lot more numbers (transistors) involved, can quickly become a time-consuming effort.

A quantum computer makes use of a physical phenomenon that takes place in the still quite mysterious quantum world. A so-called “qubit”, which replaces the traditional transistor and consists of a molecule that’s deliberately spun at incredible speeds by shooting it with lasers at pinpoint accuracy while keeping it suspended in a near-absolute-zero environment, will fall into a so-called superposition.

Remember the transistor? It’s either 1 or 0. The qubit, however, can be either 0, or 1, or anything in between (meaning a little of both at the same time). It uses a quantum state, which basically means it’s everything and nothing at the same time.

To describe it really simply: Instead of having to go through the three binary number examples one after the other, a quantum computer can calculate and display all three at the same time.

Imagine the game where you put a little ping pong ball under one of three plastic cups and start switching the cups around. If you were to work like a regular computer, you’d lift them up one by one to find the ball. A quantum computer simply lifts up all three at the same time, finds the ball, and then acts as if it never lifted the two empty cups in the first place.
['Kevin Buddaeus']
['Technology', 'Data Science', 'Future', 'Science', 'Life']