Quantum Computers
Quantum computers are advanced and extremely delicate computation devices. Compared to traditional computers they are made out of different materials, they use different techniques, and are even used for different reasons. Quantum computing uses quantum mechanics, a relatively new field of physics, to make advanced computations that a normal computer would not be able to do. But since the computer is so delicate, it will not be a replacement for the home computer. Quantum computers can only be used in labs with extremely cold temperatures. But there are some positives to quantum computers that will affect our lives. They will improve traffic, artificial intelligence, online security, drug development and improve weather forecasting. All of these advancements will make life much more convenient and speed up scientific advancements greatly. But what makes these computers so great?
Quantum computers are basically applied quantum mechanics. It uses the theories and discoveries that quantum mechanics has made to advance computing such as entanglement. In quantum mechanics the position and behavior of an atom is based off of a probability. Quantum computers utilize this and store this data as a qubit. The qubit is the analog to what traditional computers use, the bit. Since there are an infinite number of probabilities this means that quantum computers could hold much more data and can compute many more things with less buffer time.
It may seem, with these amazing enhancements, that programming in quantum computing would be exclusive to senior programmers at fortune 500 technology companies, but there are many languages that you can use to program quantum computers. For example, Microsoft has Q#. The language Q# allows you to write quantum algorithms to explore superposition, entanglement, and other quantum operations. The libraries in Q# enable you to run complex quantum operations without having to deal with working on each quantum circuit. And the best part about it is that it’s completely free so even you can harness the power of quantum computing.
