Quantum Computing WeeklyĀ Roundup
This is a syndicated version of my weekly e-mail round-up of news about Quantum Computing. Visit the homepage to subscribe to updates and check out previous issues.
š Hello and happy Tuesday to you!
This will be the final issue for 2018 as Iāll be trying to disconnect a bit these next two weeks and enjoy some time with the family. To compensate for this, Iāve included a double dose of news coverage to hold you over. Interestingly, it seems that safety and security implications of quantum computing are particularly buzz-worthy recently. US intelligence agencies have even gone so far as to list quantum computing as an āemerging threatā to national security! (full details in the news section below)
Looking for a particular area of quantum computing youād like to see covered in the next issue? Ping me and let me know!
Tiny Fact of theĀ week
We talked about Shorās algorithm last week, and this week weāll look at another algorithm which is perhaps just as famous: Groverās algorithm:
Classically, searching an unsorted database requires a linear search, which is O(N) in time. Groverās algorithm, which takes O(N1/2) time, is the fastest possible quantum algorithm for searching an unsorted database. It provides āonlyā a quadratic speedup, unlike other quantum algorithms, which can provide exponential speedup over their classical counterparts. However, even quadratic speedup is considerable when N is large. (source: Quantiki)
Excellent lecture notes from Carnegie Mellon.
Lovely sketch notes but perhaps a bit light on explanation from IBM
An animated visualizer of Groverās in action
Learn
Last week we talked a bit about Shorās algorithm, and this week weāve got a great video by one of my favorite youtube shows, Infinite Series, covering exactly that topic. Watch and enjoy!
News
US intelligence community says quantum computing and AI pose an āemerging threatā to national securityāāātechcrunch.com
Itās not often you can put nuclear weapons, terrorism and climate change on the same list as quantum computing, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things, but the U.S. government believes all pose an āemerging threatā to its national security.
Quantum Computing Needs You to Help Solve Its Core Mysteryāāāwww.wired.com
The builders of quantum computers want more coders to use their machines and figure out what theyāre actually good for.
A new type of quantum computer has smashed every recordāāāwww.techspot.com
IonQ was founded on a gamble that ātrapped ion quantumā computing could outperform the silicon-based quantum computers that Google and others are building.
Quantum Computers Threaten the Webās Security. The World Must Act Now.āāāfortune.comĀ Ā Quantum computers will undermine the worldās digital security if we donāt take action to improve web encryption standards.
5 Intractable Problems Quantum Computing Will Solveāāāinterestingengineering.comĀ Ā The most famous unsolvable problems in computer science are exactly the kinds of problems that quantum computing can address. We look at the challenges presented by these problems in five areas of the economy to learn how they are primed for disruption.
Craig Wright on the (non)viability of quantum computing attacksāāācoingeek.comĀ Ā nChain Chief Scientist Dr. Craig Wright disputes the idea of quantum computing eventually leading to security risks for cryptocurrencies.
Itās Time to Plan for How Quantum Computing Could Go Wrong, Say Entrepreneurs and Physicistsāāāgizmodo.comĀ Ā Quantum computers that can crack our strongest encryption methods might be decades awayāāābut a group of entrepreneurs and researchers think we better start talking ethics now.
Copper compound as promising quantum computing unitāāāphys.org
āTo be able to use a molecule as a qubitāāāthe basic unit of information in a quantum computerāāāit needs to have a sufficiently long-lived spin state, which can be manipulated from the outside,ā explains Prof. Dr. Winfried Plass
Practical quantum computers remain at least a decade awayāāāphysicsworld.com
(..) building a large, fault-tolerant quantum computer and one is unlikely to be built within the coming decade. That is according to a report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
Quantum chemical calculations on quantum computersāāāwww.sciencedaily.comĀ Ā A new quantum algorithm has been implemented for quantum chemical calculations such as Full-CI on quantum computers without exponential/combinatorial explosion, giving exact solutions of Schroedinger Equations for atoms and molecules, for the first time.
Imperfections make photons perfect for quantum computingāāāwww.nanowerk.comĀ Ā Scientists show how atom-flat materials could produce polarized photons on demand.
In what sense is quantum computing aĀ science?
In this last article, weāll finish on a more philosophical note, taking a look back in time/history and what it means to be a science.
Thanks for reading! Contribute?
Written an interesting blog post or found some interesting things to share about quantum computing? Spotted a mistake? Get in touch by email (hit reply) or ping me on twitter (@jesperht).