The Quantum Computer

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The Quantum Computer

• Start-up Demos Quantum Computer
• By Michael Kenellos

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What is a Quantum Computer?

• New concept for computers,
• very different from the electric
• computers we are accustomed to
• Digital computers (traditional) provide
• mathematical solutions to input,
• whereas the Quantum computer
• provides physical simulations
• Ultimately it is an analog computer
• February 13th 2007 first public
• demonstration

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How it Works

• Key Feature Silicon chip composed of 16
  connected qubits
• Each Qubit has a speck of the element Niobium and
  coiled wire
• When there is electric input it creates tiny
  magnetic fields along the wires and generates a
  reaction from the niobium and a change in the
  qubit
• Reaction measured and solutions presented
• Currently being kept frozen in
• Canada at minus 274 degrees
• Celsius with liquid helium

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Purpose and Advantages

• Ideal for running and solving extremely complex
  and multidimensional problems that companies are
  unable to solve on their own
• Problems too sophisticated for current computers
  to process
• Able to work with multiple variables at once
• Very low electrical consumption inexpensive in
  this sense
• Stable Chips protected from light and sound
  penetration - difficult to disturb

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Applications and Demonstrations

• Demonstrations at the conference
• Solved Sudoku problem on the spot- Shows
  computers ability to think logically
• Compared and identified similar molecules within
  prescription drugs active ingredients- Ability to
  work with multiple variables at once
• Practical Applications
• Medical/Science fields forced to slow research to
  comply with current computing capabilities
• Quantum computers could keep up with information
• Able to process unlimited information and keep it
  as separate units or combine/link it to other
  data

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Fun Demonstrations!

• At the conference it created a seating chart for
  historical figures. It considered all known
  information from each guest and created a chart
  based on who they would be most compatible with.
  For example, Cleopatra did not eat meat, and
  apparently Genghis Khan did, so they could not be
  seated together. It created a full chart with a
  minimum number of violations to the directions.

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The Future of the Quantum Computer

• Do not displace digital computers- two different
  purposes
• By the end of 2008 D-Wave (the creators) plan on
  tripling the number of qubits
• At this time they will sell its computing
  capabilities to companies
• Company pays D-Wave to process some problem for
  them, D-Wave processes it and send back the
  results
• Currently too large and expensive to sell a whole
  computer to one company

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Why does this matter to me?

• Could help cure illnesses and diseases by
  tracking how a virus/cancer reacts to certain
  treatments, and could suggest one type of therapy
  which would cure it
• Keep constant attention on the global economy and
  predict when prices will change and how
• Can be applied to any situation where there are
  multiple variables/outcomes and has the ability
  to keep track of all components simultaneously
• Example of how computer technology has gone far
  beyond the capabilities of man

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How it relates to Communication

• Tendency of the Quantum Computer to bring
  together specialists and multiple studies/data at
  once
• Increased business/science communication between
  specialists all over the world
• It is focused around interaction and combining
  multiple variables and ideas
• Not yet to the stage where it directly effects
  consumers (like us) communicate, but in the
  future it could be applied to different
  situations where we could benefit

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Reactions to Article

• Do you think the Quantum computer will find an
  audience among large businesses/ the medical
  field since it is suggesting a entire new
  business model (of renting computing
  capabilities)?
• Do you foresee this type of technology ever
  taking over our digital computers, since its
  engineering is so superior?
• What other fields could the Quantum computer
  influence other than medical, business and
  science? War or world hunger?

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Works Cited

• Kenellos, Michael. Start-up Demos Quantum
  Computer. ZDNet News. 14 February 2007. 20
  February 2007 http//news.zdnet.com/2100- 9584_22-
  6159152-2.html?tagst.next

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Thank you!!