The new generation computing: Quantum Computing

With the invention of computers the processing power has far exceeded the limits of human brain. When computers where invented way back in twentieth century none imagined that a body with transistors embedded on silicon chips could do wonders like a human nor they could act like human. But its a reality. Not surprisingly major concern of research in this field is to improve its performance to ever time highest, i.e. in terms of its speed and memeory.One of the major breakthrough in research was to out leash the power of Quantums in digital technology. We can see in detail about a Quantum Computer through various questions. What is Quantum? The fundamental unit of quantum information is called a quantum bit, or qubit. A qubit is a bit of information represented by a quantum particle, such as the spin of an electron, a property that can be imagined as the spin of a top with its axis pointing either up or down. The up or down spin can correspond to a 0 or 1. But the electron can also be placed in a superposition of states, in which it is both up and down, a 0 and a 1, at the same time. In this situation, an atom or electron or photon takes on strange properties. It can be in two places at once, for example. It behaves in some ways like a wave. But these properties are instantly changed when it interacts with something else, such as when somebody observes it. That is, any two-state system can represent a qubit. This is the difference between a classical and a quantum computer, In an ordinary computer, information is represented in bits, each of which is either a zero or a one. But in a quantum computer, an individual particle can essentially represent a zero and a one at the same time. Making such particles work together, certain kinds of calculations could be done with blazing speed. Which theoretically allows quantum computers to be much more efficient at solving certain types of problems. How do quantum computers work? The exact physical mechanism at work within the quantum computer is somewhat theoretically complex and intuitively disturbing. So to make it simple to understand we will deal only with peripheral ideas of quantum computing.As we have seen in the definition in a quantum computer, an individual particle can essentially represent a zero and a one at the same time. For example If the qubit is in a superposition of the 1 state and the 0 state, and it performed an calculation with another qubit in the same superposition, then one calculation actually obtains 4 results: a 1/1 result, a 1/0 result, a 0/1 result, and a 0/0 result. This is a result of the mathematics applied to a quantum system when in a state of decoherence, which lasts while it is in a superposition of states until it collapses down into one state. The ability of a quantum computer to perform multiple computations in parallel is called quantum parallelism Such a , a quantum computer would be able to perform calculations on a far greater order of magnitude

than traditional computers ... a concept which has serious concerns and applications in the realm of cryptography & encryption. Some fear that a successful & practical quantum computer would devastate the world's financial system by ripping through their computer security encryptions, which are based on factoring large numbers that literally cannot be cracked by traditional computers within the life span of the universe. A quantum computer, on the other hand, could factor the numbers in a reasonable period of time.

Bottleneck in Quantum computing The quantum computer's main drawback is the same as its strength: quantum decoherence. The qubit calculations are performed while the quantum wave function is in a state of superposition between states, which is what allows it to perform the calculations using both 1 & 0 states simultaneously. But this years Nobel Prize has brought in a sigh of relief to this issue. Frenchman Serge Haroche and American David Wineland (both 68) opened the door to new experiments in quantum physics by showing how to observe individual quantum particles while preserving their quantum properties. Working separately, the two scientists developed ingenious laboratory methods that allowed them to manage and measure and control fragile quantum states, said the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Their ground-breaking methods have enabled this field of research to take the very first steps towards building a new type of superfast computer based on quantum physics, said the academy. The research has also led to the construction of extremely precise clocks that could become the future basis for a new standard of time.

To summarize Quantum computers could radically change peoples lives in the way that classical computers did last century, but a full-scale quantum computer is still decades away, but not too far.