Practical Quantum Computer

Quantum computers are largely hypothetical devices that

could perform some calculations much more rapidly than conventional
computers can. Instead of the bits of classical computation, which can
represent 0 or 1, quantum computers consist of quantum bits, or
qubits, which can, in some sense, represent 0 and 1 simultaneously.
Although quantum systems with as many as 12 qubits have been
demonstrated in the lab, building quantum computers complex enough
to perform useful computations will require miniaturizing qubit
technology, much the way the miniaturization of transistors enabled
modern computers. Trapped ions are probably the most widely studied
qubit technology, but theyve historically required a large and complex
hardware apparatus. In todays Nature Nanotechnology, researchers
from MIT and MIT Lincoln Laboratory report an important step
toward practical quantum computers, with a paper describing a
prototype chip that can trap ions in an electric field and, with built-in
optics, direct laser light toward each of them. If you look at the
traditional assembly, its a barrel that has a vacuum inside it, and
inside that is this cage thats trapping the ions. Then theres basically
an entire laboratory of external optics that are guiding the laser beams
to the assembly of ions, says Rajeev Ram, an MIT professor of
electrical engineering and one of the senior authors on the paper. Our This blue refrigerator gets down to
just above absolute zero, making
vision is to take that external laboratory and miniaturize much of it
quantum experiments possible on
onto a chip. tiny chips deep inside it. In
The Quantum Information and Integrated Nano systems group subsequent photos are scenes from
at Lincoln Laboratory was one of several research groups already the Delft lab where the experiments
working to develop simpler, smaller ion traps known as surface traps. are prepared.
A standard ion trap looks like a tiny cage, whose bars are electrodes
that produce an electric field. Ions line up in the center of the cage, parallel to the bars. A surface trap, by
contrast, is a chip with electrodes embedded in its surface. The ions hover 50 micrometers above the
electrodes. Cage traps are intrinsically limited in size, but surface traps could, in principle, be extended
indefinitely. With current technology, they would still have to be held in a vacuum chamber, but they
would allow many more qubits to be crammed inside. We believe that surface traps are a key technology
to enable these systems to scale to the very large number of ions that will be required for large-scale
quantum computing, says Jeremy Sage, who together with John Chiaverini leads Lincoln Laboratorys
trapped-ion quantum-information-processing project. These cage traps work very well, but they really
only work for maybe 10 to 20 ions, and they basically max out around there. Performing a quantum
computation, however, requires precisely controlling the energy state of every qubit independently, and
trapped-ion qubits are controlled with laser beams. In a surface trap, the ions are only about 5
micrometers apart. Hitting a single ion with an external laser, without affecting its neighbors, is incredibly
difficult; only a few groups had previously attempted it, and their techniques werent practical for large-
scale systems.

Practical Examples of How Quantum Computing Will Change the World:

1. Online security
 There will be good and bad for online security once there is widespread adoption of quantum
computers. The bad? Our current data encryption tactics will become obsolete. Currently, most online
security methods count on the fact that it takes an extraordinary amount of time to crack the code as
computers crunch large numbers. However, quantum computers will be able to process this information
quickly leaving our computers, financial institutions and private information vulnerable. The good news
is that significant work has been done to develop quantum encryption methods such as quantum key
distribution, an ultra-secure communication method that requires a key to decipher a message. Thanks to
the peculiar properties of quantum mechanics, if the message gets intercepted, no one else can read it.
2. Artificial intelligence
The information processing that it critical to improve machine learning is ideally suited to quantum
computing. Quantum computers can analyze large quantities of data to provide artificial intelligence
machines the feedback required to improve performance. Quantum computers are able to analyze the data
to provide feedback much more efficiently than traditional computers and therefore the learning curve for
artificial intelligence machines is shortened. Just like humans, artificial intelligence machines powered by
the insights from quantum computers can learn from experience and self-correct. Quantum computers will
help artificial intelligence expand to more industries and help technology become much more intuitive
very quickly.
3. Drug development
In order to develop an effective drug, chemists need to evaluate the interactions between molecules,
proteins and chemicals to see if medicines will improve certain conditions or cure diseases. Due to the
extraordinary amount of combinations that are analyzed, this is time and labor intensive. Since quantum
computers can review multiple molecules, proteins and chemicals simultaneously, they make it possible
for chemists to determine viable drug options quicker. Additionally, some drugs are being cancelled in the
trial stage even when they might work for a subset of the population. Quantum computing would allow
for a persons genes to be sequenced and analyzed much more rapidly than the methods we use today and
would allow for personalized drug development.
4. Improve weather forecasting and climate change predictions
Even with sophisticated tools, weather forecasting remains a bit of a guessing game. Just ask anyone
who has been caught in a storm with no warning or prepared for a blizzard but ultimately only saw
flurries. Since quantum computers can analyze all the data at once, meteorologists will have a much better
idea of when bad weather will strike to alert people to ultimately save lives, anguish and money. The UK
Met Office, the national weather service of the United Kingdom, has already invested in quantum
computing technology to help improve forecasting. We can also gain more insight into how we are
influencing our climate because quantum computers will help us build better climate models. The sooner
we know how things are expected to shift, the better we will be able to prepare and respond to climate
change and its impact.

References:
1. Larry Hardesty | MIT News Office. (2016, August 08). Toward practical quantum computers. Retrieved
August 23, 2017, from http://news.mit.edu/2016/toward-practical-quantum-computers-0808
2. Juskalian, R. (2017, April 06). You might not know what to do with it, but it's time to save up for a
quantum computer. Retrieved August 23, 2017, from https://www.technologyreview.com/s/603495/10-
breakthrough-technologies-2017-practical-quantum-computers/
3. Marr, B. (2017, July 15). 6 Practical Examples Of How Quantum Computing Will Change Our World.
Retrieved August 23, 2017, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2017/07/10/6-practical-
examples-of-how-quantum-computing-will-change-our-world/#1323e27380c1