Quantum Computing:

It is a new kind of computing based on Quantum mechanics that deals with the
physical world that is probabilistic and unpredictable in nature. Quantum
mechanics being a more general model of physics than classical mechanics give
rise to a more general model of computing- quantum computing that has more
potential to solve problems that cannot be solved by classical ones. To store and
manipulate the information, they use their own quantum bits also called ‘Qubits’
unlike other classical computers which are based on classical computing that
uses binary bits 0 and 1 individually. The computers using such type of
computing are known as ‘Quantum Computers’. In such small computers, circuits
with transistors, logic gates, and Integrated Circuits are not possible. Hence, it
uses the subatomic particles like atoms, electrons, photons, and ions as their bits
along with their information of spins and states. They can be superposed and can
give more combinations. Therefore, they can run in parallel using memory
efficiently and hence is more powerful. Quantum computing is the only model
that could disobey the Church-Turing thesis and thus quantum computers can
perform exponentially faster than classical computers.
Fundamentals of quantum computing:
While designing the conventional computer, it was kept in mind that transistors’
performance especially when getting smaller, will be affected by noise if any
type of quantum phenomenon takes place. They tried to avoid quantum
phenomena completely for their circuits. But the quantum computer adapts a
different technique instead of using classical bits and even works on the
quantum phenomenon itself. It uses quantum bits that are analogous to classical
bits and have two quantum states where it can be either 0 or 1 except it follows
some quantum properties where it can have both values simultaneously leading
to a concept of superposed bits.
Quantum Bit or Qubit :
It is the fundamental unit of quantum information that represents subatomic
particles such as atoms, electrons, etc. as a computer’s memory while their
control mechanisms work as a computer’s processor. It can take the value of 0,
1, or both simultaneously. It is a million times more powerful than today’s
strongest supercomputers. Production and management of qubits are
tremendous challenges in the field of engineering. They acquire both, digital as
well as analog nature which gives the quantum computer their computational
power. Their analog nature indicates that quantum gates have no noise limit and
their digital nature provides a norm to recover from this serious weakness.
Therefore, the approach of logic gates and abstractions created for classical
computing is of no use in quantum computing. Quantum computing may adopt
ideas only from classical computing. But this computing needs its own method to
overcome the variations of processing and any type of noise. It also needs its
own strategy to debug errors and handle defects in design. Qubit has two
quantum states similar to the classical binary states. The qubit can be in either
state as well as in the superposed state of both states simultaneously. There is a
representation of these quantum states also known as Dirac notation . In this
notation, the state label is kept between two symbols | and ⟩. Therefore, states
are written as |0⟩ and |1⟩ which are literally having analog values and both are
participating to give any value between 0 and 1 given that sum of probability of
occurrence of each state must be 1. Thus any quantum bit wave function can be
expressed as a two-state linear combination each with its own complex
coefficient i.e. |w⟩ = x |0⟩ + y |1⟩ where x and y are coefficients of both the
states. The probability of the state is directly proportional to the square of the
magnitude of its coefficient. |x|2 is the probability of identifying the qubit state 0
and |y|2 is the probability of identifying the qubit state 1. These probabilities
when summed up must give a total of 1 or say 100% mathematically, i.e. |x| 2 + |
y|2 = 1
Properties of quantum computing:
In quantum physics, the quantum object does not exist in an entirely determined
state. It looks like a particle but behaves like a wave when not being observed.
This dual nature of particles leads to interesting physical phenomena. The state
of any quantum object is expressed as a sum of possible participating states or a
wave- function. Such states are coherent due to the interference of all the
participating states either in a constructive or a destructive manner. Observation
of quantum objects when they interact with some larger physical system r
esults in the extraction of information. Such observation of quantum objects is
called quantum measure ment. Measurement can also result in the loss of
information by disrupting the quantum state. These are some of the properties of
quantum objects. Quantum objects referred here are the qubits in the case of
quantum computing. The progress of any quantum system is regulated by
Schrodinger’s equation that tells us about the change in the wave-function of the
system due to the energy environment. This environment is the system
Hamiltonian which is a mathematical description of energies experiencing from
all forces felt by all components of the system. To control any quantum system,
there is a need to control this environment by isolating the system from the
forces of the universe that cannot be controlled easily and by assigning energy
within this isolated area only. A system cannot be completely isolated. However,
energy and information exchanges can be minimized. This interaction with the
outside environ ment can lead to loss of coherence and can result in
“Decoherence” . The properties are the conceptual rules and mathematical
manifestations that describe the behavior of the particles. Quantum computers
use three fundamental properties of quantum mechanics to store, represent, and
perform operations on data in such a way so that it can compute exponentially
faster than any classical computer. The three properties are given as follows :
Superposition :
Superposition in quantum mechanics states that any two quantum states can be
summed up (superposed) resulting in another valid quantum state. It is a funda
mental principle of quantum mechanics. Oppositely we can say that any
quantum state is the sum of two or more than two other unique states.
Superposition in quantum computing refers to the ability of a quantum system
where quantum particle or qubit can exist in two different positions or say, in
multiple states at the same time. It provides high-speed parallel processing in an
unbelievable way and is very different from their classical equivalents that have
binary constraints. The quantum computer system holds the information that
exists in two states simultaneously. Qubits are brought into a superposition by
influenc ing them with the help of lasers so that it can simultaneously store 0 and
1 at the same time. In classical computing, if there are 2 bits, the total possible
values after combining we get are 4, out of which only 1 value is possible at any
instant. But on the other hand, if there are 2 qubits in the quantum computer.
The total possible values after combination are 4 and all are possible at once. It
looks like unthinkable. because it is not like gravity that can be proved easily just
by looking at the falling of an apple. The laws of classical physics fail here
because superposition only exists in the territory of quantum particles.

Entanglement:
Entanglement in quantum mechanics is a physical phenomenon where two or
more quantum objects are inherently linked such that measurement of one rules
the possible measurement of another. In other words, a pair or a group of
particles interacts or share spatial locality such that the quantum state of each
particle cannot be characterized independently of the other particle’s state in the
same group even when they are separated by a large distance. Entanglement is
one of the important properties of quantum computing. It refers to the strong
correlation existing between two quantum particles (physical proper ties of
systems) or qubits. Qubits are linked together in a perfect instantaneous
connection, even if they are isolated at any large distances such as located at
the opposite ends of the Universe. They are entangled or defined with reference
to each other. The fact is that the state of one particle influences the state of the
other. It creates strong communication between qubits. Once they got entangled,
they will stay connected even after separated at any distance. In classical
computers, if bits are doubled, computational power also gets doubled. But in
the case of Entanglement, adding extra bits to a quantum computer can increase
its computational power exponentially. Quantum computer uses this property in a
sort of quantum daisy chain. Some examples of entanglement can be seen in
nature such as electrons separated from each other at some distance inside an
electron cloud are massively entangled with one another. If one electron is at
both the states of spin-up and spin-down with each state having a probability of
½, a similar case is with the other electron.
Interference :
The property of interference in quantum computers is similar to wave
interference in classical physics. Wave interference happens when two waves
interact with each other in the same medium. It forms a resultant wave with
either their ampli tudes added together when they are aligned in the same
direction known as con structive interference or a resultant wave with their
amplitudes canceled out when waves are in opposite direction known as
destructive interference. The net wave can be bigger or smaller than the original
wave depending on the type of interference. Since all subatomic particles along
with light pose dual nature, i.e. particle and wave nature both. The quantum
particle may experience interference. If each particle goes through both the slits
(Young’s double-slit experiment) simultaneously due to superposition, they can
cross its own path interfering with the path direction. The idea of interference
allows us to intentionally bias the content of the qubit towards the needed state.
However, it can also result in a quantum computer to combine its various
computations into one making it more error-prone.
Advantages of quantum computing :
1. According to researchers, quantum computers will be able to solve those
com plex mathematical problems that traditional computers find
impossible to solve in a practical timeframe.
2. It provides that computing power which can sufficiently process
excessively large amounts of data (2.5 Exabyte daily i.e. equal to 5 million
laptops) created all around the world to extract meaning from it.
3. Due to the teleportation phenomenon known as ‘quantum tunneling,’ it
can work in parallel and use less amount of electricity, hence, reducing the
power consumption up to 100 to 1000 times.
4. A general quantum computer is “thousands of times” faster than any
classical computer. For example, Google has made a quantum computer
that is 100 million times faster than any classical computer present in its
lab.
5. It can solve complex problems without being overheated since for its
stability it kept cold up to 0.2 Kelvin inside the quantum system.
6. It can easily solve optimization problems such as finding the best route
and scheduling trains and flights. It would also be able to compute 1
trillion moves in chess per second. Quantum computers will be able to
crack the highest security unbreakable encryption techniques. However, it
would also build hack-proof alternates.
7. It can bring up revolution from drugs to petroleum industries. The
invention of new drugs will become possible. The marketable algorithms of
financial orga nizations can be improved. The field of artificial intelligence
can be improved soon.

Disadvantages of quantum computing :

1. Due to advancements in quantum computers, the security of the existing
Inter net of Things (IoT) would fall down. Cryptographic techniques,
Databases of government and private large organizations, banks, and
defense systems can be hacked. Considering these facts, quantum
computers can be terrible for our future.
2. The Quantum Computer will work as a different device and cannot
replace classical computers entirely. Since, classical computers are better
at some chores than quantum computers like email, excel, etc.
3. It has not been invented completely yet as only parts are being
implemented and people are still imagining how it would look.
4. It is very delicate and error-prone. Any kind of vibrations affects
subatomic particles like atoms and electrons. Due to which noise, faults,
and even failures are possible. It leads to “Decoherence” which is a loss of
coherence in quantum.
5. Quantum processors are very unstable and are very hard to test even.
For the stability of the quantum computer, it is kept at 0.2 Kelvin
(absolute Kelvin) which is nearly below the universe temperature . It is
very hard to maintain and regulate such temperature. The main problem
is to really develop it as a personal computer with the price range in the
 budget of consumers. They will be firstly accessible to large scale industry
then come to retail markets.

Applications of quantum computing:

Many quantum algorithms have been evolved for quantum computers
that deliver speedup which is a result of some fundamental mathematical
methods like Fourier transform, Hamiltonian simulation, etc. Most
algorithms require a large number of qubits of the best quality and some
error correction to provide use ful functionalities. These algorithms are
formed in blocks rather than as a whole combined application since it is
not practical. Therefore, it is a great challenge to create quantum
applications that are really practically useful along with providing
speedup with no error. The potential utility or say useful application of a
quantum computer is an area of ongoing research. It is predicted that
those applications require fewer qubits and can be carried out with a
lesser amount of codes. It is pos sible to build algorithms that can run
faster on quantum computers because of the distinct features of the
qubit. Below are some of the primary applications that we will see soon in
the upcoming era:
Cryptography
Many important elements of IT security and online security such as e-
commerce and electronic secrecy depend on encryption and
mathematical algorithms which are difficult to break such as factoring
very huge numbers into primes (RSA technique). It is done by traversing
through every possible factor using conventional computers which takes
a significant amount of time. Also, some modern algorithms other than
RSA like AES, ECDSA, etc. cannot be cracked using even high computing
power. It makes it costly and cracking them even less practical. Quantum
computers can do all these kinds of stuff in exponentially less amount of
time. New quantum algorithms (e.g. Shor’s algorithm) are able to do it
and more unique algorithms will develop [29]. But before that, new
encryption techniques are being made to resist the quantum ones. Since
the already running techniques and digital applications security are at
greater risks
Optimization Problems
Optimizing a problem implies finding the best solution to that problem
out of all the possible solutions. It can be done by minimizing the error
and even minimizing the steps available. Quantum computers are best in
solving optimization problems. There are a lot of quantum algorithms out
of which quantum optimization algorithms might improve the already
existing optimization problems which are solved using conventional
computers currently. Some of them are quantum semi-definite
programming, quantum data fitting, and quantum combinatorial
optimization. Some of the examples include simulating the molecular
model like protein behavior for medical research which can lead to the
new discovery of drugs for serious dis eases like cancer, lung disease,
etc. Another example is the Simulation of the cellular structure of
batteries for improving battery power and life in electric vehicles. It could
also solve travel-related problems in real traffic just like traveling
salesman problems to find the shortest path between many cities, going
to each city once and returning back, modeling the entire finance market,
and many more. Traveling optimization is the major work under
Volkswagen recently [30]
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence counts on processing large and complex datasets. It
is responsible for learning, inferring, and understanding. It learns until it
stops mistaking and making errors in its task. It takes a significant
amount of time in learning too. But quantum computing can make it easy
and more accurate. Since conventional computers are only training the
learning model from a specific size of the dataset to restrict the
computation time. Quantum computers can train these models over a
huge dataset without sticking into the exponential time. The more data it
uses to train, the more accurate it will be. Generative models generate
output such as image, audio, etc. that can be fed to quantum computers
to improve its quality and accuracy. Natural Language processing is
another example that can understand complete sentences. Quantum
computers can make it understand all the phrases and speech in real-
time with improved quality, which is computationally costly with today’s
computer

Quantum Simulation
It is an important utility in the field of quantum chemistry and material
science [31]. This problem needs solving ground state energies of
electrons and their wave functions, with or without the presence of some
external electric or magnetic field. From the structure of atoms and
electrons in chemistry to the rate at which chemi cal reactions are taking
place, everything can be simulated very well. The classical computer
when applied to this problem often fails to reach the level of precision
needed to predict the rate of the chemical reaction. It could also have
commercial applications in areas such as medical and health care fields,
chemical catalysts, storage of energy, pharmaceutical advancement and
device displays