Age of Quantum computing
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In the 2011 book “Physics of the Future”, author Michio Kaku predicted that Moore’s Law will end and this would turn Silicon Valley into rust if an alternative and suitable replacement for silicon was not found. For the last 4 decades, Moore’s Law came about to represent unstoppable technological progress. At its heart was the observation that the number of transistors fabricated onto a chip would double every two years and that the cost would also fall off at a similar rate. It is very important to note that this law is an observation and not an actual physical or natural law. However, as of 2010 the update to the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors has shown growth slowing by 2013 after which densities are going to double only every three years. We are hitting the limits of the number of electrons that can be fit in a given area. One option to overcome this limitation is to create quantum computers that will take advantage of the quantum character of molecules to perform the processing tasks of a conventional computer. Quantum computers could very possibly one day be able to replace silicon chips, just as the transistor replaced vacuum tube.
Transcript of Age of Quantum computing
Age of Quantum Computing - March 2014
Table of Contents
Abstract ....................................................................................................................................................................... 1
1. The end of Moore’s Law ................................................................................................................................... 1
2. Enter the realm of quantum computing........................................................................................................ 2
2.1 Quantum Superposition ............................................................................................................................................. 2
2.2 Coldest place in the universe .................................................................................................................................... 2
2.3 Communicating Among Quantum Computers using Bose-Einstein Condensates ........................................... 2
3. Criticism ............................................................................................................................................................. 3
4. Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................................... 3
5. Value proposition ................................................................................................................................................. 3
6. References .......................................................................................................................................................... 3
Age of Quantum Computing - March 2014
1
ABSTRACT
In the 2011 book “Physics of the Future”, author Michio Kaku predicted that Moore’s Law will end and this would turn
Silicon Valley into rust if an alternative and suitable replacement for silicon was not found. For the last 4 decades, Moore’s
Law came about to represent unstoppable technological progress. At its heart was the observation that the number of
transistors fabricated onto a chip would double every two years and that the cost would also fall off at a similar rate. It is
very important to note that this law is an observation and not an actual physical or natural law. However, as of 2010 the
update to the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors has shown growth slowing by 2013 after which
densities are going to double only every three years. We are hitting the limits of the number of electrons that can be fit in a
given area.
One option to overcome this limitation is to create quantum computers that will take advantage of the quantum
character of molecules to perform the processing tasks of a conventional computer. Quantum computers could very
possibly one day be able to replace silicon chips, just as the transistor replaced vacuum tube.
1. THE END OF MOORE’S LAW
The end of Moore’s law may still be few years away, but there are signs that it is already here. Just ask the second
largest chip manufacturer AMD. AMD’s Chief Product Architect John Gustafson believes the company’s difficulty in
transitioning from a 28 nanometer chip to a 20 nanometer chip shows that we’ve already reached the beginning of the end.
The end of Moore’s Law for single core CPU led to Intel and AMD to resort to a multi-core processor to keep up with the
ever growing demands of consumers.
Chief Technology officer of Broadcom Henry Samueli told several Silicon Valley veterans that “Moore’s Law was
coming to an end—in the next decade it will pretty much come to an end so we have 15 years or so”. As of 2010 the update
to the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors has shown growth slowing by 2013 after which densities are
going to double only every three years. We are hitting the limits of the number of electrons that can be fit in a given area.
It should be noted that the predictions about end of Moore''s Law are almost as old as the observation itself posited
by Gordon Moore in 1965. Theoretical physicist Michio Kaku believes Moore''s Law has about 10 years of life left before
shrinking transistors smack up against the limitation of the law physics. In his 2011 book “Physics of the Future”, Kaku
predicted that the end of Law will turn Silicon Valley into a rust belt if a suitable replacement for silicon was not found.
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2. ENTER THE REALM OF QUANTUM COMPUTING
A quantum computer makes direct use of quantum-mechanical phenomena, like
entanglement and superposition to perform operations on data. Transistor based
computers required data to be encoded into bits, each of which is always 0 or 1.
Quantum computation on the other hand uses Qubits or Quantum bits, which are in
superposition of states. One qubit can be used to represent a zero, a one, or any
quantum superposition of two qubit states. In general, a quantum processor with n
qubits can be in superposition of up to 2^n different states simultaneously at any
one time. A quantum processor operates by setting qubits in a controlled initial
state that represents the problem at hand and then by manipulating qubits with a
fixed sequence of quantum logic gates. The sequence of quantum logic gates to be
applied is called as quantum algorithm.
Hypothetically, Quantum computers share the similarities with the probabilistic and non-deterministic computers. What
really sets Quantum computer apart form the rest is the ability to be in more than one state simultaneously.
2.1 QUANTUM SUPERPOSITION
The power of superposition extend when we consider the qubit registers. The register can be in a superposition of all
possible forms of register values. In some of these cases, when superposition contains more than one qubit, the qubits can
be entwined with one another. Individual qubits do not act independently, and exhibit more strongly correlated behavior
than what is possible for classical systems. As with one qubit, when quantum gates are performed on register, operations
are performed on all possible values simultaneously.
It isn’t necessarily useful for all every kind of computing, but it could solve problems that traditional computers can’t.
2.2 COLDEST PLACE IN THE UNIVERSE Current Quantum computers rely on manipulation of molecules to perform processing related tasks. In order to manipulate
molecules, we need to cool the molecules to near absolute zero levels. By definition Absolute zero is thought of as the
lowest possible temperature in the universe. We do not require absolute zero; however we do need to reach near those
levels in order to manipulate molecules to store data. This process is highly energy intensive and can get very expensive.
2.3 COMMUNICATING AMONG QUANTUM COMPUTERS USING BOSE-E INSTEIN
CONDENSATES Physicists at Georgia Tech are using ultra-cold atoms to create top speeds at which networks of quantum computers will be
able to communicate. The system comprises of several small quantum computers that will work together very much as
today’s multi-core supercomputers which are used to tackle big operations. The individual computer in such systems will
communicate information using what is referred to as known as Bose-Einstein condensates or BEC, where all cold atoms
exist in exactly same quantum state.
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3. CRITICISM
In 2011, D-Wave Systems announced the world’s first commercial quantum annealer on the market by the name D-Wave
One. The company claims this system usesd a 128 qubit processor chipset. But, there were many criticisms. Criticisms
stemmed from benchmark tests published in which the D-Wave Quantum system sometimes performed no better than a
reconfigured GPU. Regardless of the criticism, we can consider the tests to be a stepping milestone in computing.
4. CONCLUSION
As of 2014 quantum computing is still in its childhood but many experiments have been carried out in which computational
operations were executed on a small number of qubits. Both theoretical and practical research continues, and many
military funding agencies and national governments quantum computing research to develop quantum computers for both
national and civilian and security purposes. In my view, quantum computing is not a perfect replacement for transistor
based computing. It will become a complementary form of computing which will be useful in certain advanced
computational scenarios.
5. VALUE PROPOSITION
Quantum computers have the potential to resolve problems that would take a traditional computer longer than the
age of the universe.
Quantum computers might revolutionize Big Data, Analytics, Genetic research, Artificial intelligence and much more.
Next generation of software applications will be powered by a combination of Molecular and Quantum Computers.
Companies like Google and Amazon are investing heavily in Quantum computing.
The quantum revolution is on its way. The potential possibilities that lie ahead are limitless.
6. REFERENCES
i. The Limits of Quantum, by Scott Aaronson, SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC. 2008 . http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~robins/The_Limits_of_Quantum_Computers.pdf
ii. A Blueprint for Building a Quantum Computer, name By Rodney Van Meter, Clare Horsman Communications of the ACM, 2013. http://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2013/10/168172-a-blueprint-for-building-a-quantum-computer/fulltext#F2
iii. Physics of the Future: How Science Will Shape Human Destiny and Our Daily Lives by the Year 2100 Paperback by Michio Kaku http://www.amazon.com/Physics-Future-Science-Shape-Destiny/dp/0307473333
iv. Bose-Einstein Condensates Evaluated for Communicating Among Quantum Computers, by John Toon, Georgia Tech, 2013. http://www.cos.gatech.edu/news/Bose-Einstein-Condensates-Evaluated-for-Communicating-Among-Quantum-Computers
