Quantum computing
Quantum computing
Quantum computing studies theoretical computation systems (quantum computers) that make direct use of quantum-mechanical phenomena, such as superposition and entanglement, to perform operations on data.[1]Quantum computers are different from digital computers based ontransistors. Whereas digital computers require data to be encoded into binary digits (bits), each of which is always in one of two definite states (0 or 1), quantum computation uses qubits (quantum bits), which can be insuperpositions of states. A theoretical model is the quantum Turing machine, also known as the universal quantum computer. Quantum computers share theoretical similarities with non-deterministic and probabilistic computers; one example is the ability to be in more than one state simultaneously. The field of quantum computing was first introduced by Yuri Manin in 1980,[2] andRichard Feynman in 1982.[3][4] A quantum computer with spins as quantum bits was also formulated for use as a quantum space–time in 1968.[5]
As of 2015, the development of actual quantum computers is still in its infancy, but experiments have been carried out in which quantum computational operations were executed on a very small number of qubits.[6] Both practical and theoretical research continues, and many national governments and military funding agencies support quantum computing research to develop quantum computers for civilian, business, trade, gaming and national security purposes, such ascryptanalysis.
