Quantum Computing

Hey there,

Welcome to Week 19 of TechExec - the newsletter that turbocharges your growth to become a Tech Executive!

As always, we are sharing a new set of BLTs this week

• 💼 B - a Business concept / theory / story

• 💝 L - a lifestyle advice

• 🤖 T - a Tech explainer

Here is the schedule:

Monday —>💼 B - a Business concept / theory / story

Wednesday —> 💝 L - a lifestyle advice

Friday —> 🤖 T - a Tech explainer

This week we covered Carbon Credits on Monday and Critique Club on Wednesday.

Today’s Tech Explainer is on Quantum Computing!

💼 T - Quantum Computing

Generative AI is cool, like really cool, but it's not as mind-blowing as Quantum Computing can be. This field has the potential to revolutionize everything from drug discovery to climate modeling, owing to its unprecedented processing power. Despite being a known concept, practical quantum computers are still a long way off. But scientists are making advances in the underlying technology that can power such devices. But how exactly does it work? Well, the magic lies in the realm of quantum bits, or qubits.

Unlike classical computers that use binary bits (0s and 1s) to process information, quantum computers use qubits. These qubits can represent both 0 and 1 at the same time, thanks to a quantum property known as superposition. They can also influence one another, regardless of distance, through a phenomenon called entanglement. It's these mind-bending capabilities that allow quantum computers to process massive amounts of data simultaneously.

The potential applications of quantum computing are vast and varied. In medicine, for instance, they could be used to model complex molecular structures, accelerating drug discovery. In finance, they could optimize trading strategies, manage risk more effectively, and streamline operations. In cryptography, they could crack codes that would take classical computers millennia to decipher. The possibilities are truly endless.

The field of quantum computing has made remarkable strides in recent years. Tech giants like Google and IBM are leading the charge, investing heavily in research and development. In 2019, Google even claimed "quantum supremacy", after its 53-qubit computer reportedly performed a calculation in 200 seconds that would take the world's fastest supercomputer 10,000 years.

Despite these advances, there's still a long way to go before quantum computers become mainstream. They're prone to errors and instability. They're also notoriously difficult to build and maintain, given that qubits need to be kept at temperatures just above absolute zero. For the uninitiated, absolute zero means 0 kelvin, i.e., -273.15 degrees Celsius. For Americans who deal in Fahrenheit, absolute zero equals -459.67 degrees Fahrenheit.

However, researchers are tirelessly working on overcoming these hurdles. Recently, they've developed techniques to correct qubit errors and have made breakthroughs in 'quantum annealing', a method that makes quantum computers more resilient.

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