THE REAL MAGAZINE ISSUE 4 | Page 12

QUANTUM COMPUTING The future is here again Did you know the term computer “bug” was created when the users of one of the first computers, which were as big as a room, were struggling with a malfunction and found that it was caused by as moth that was sitting on one of the huge computer chips. Skip to today and you’ll find more that the average smart phone has more than 10x the computing power of the computer that sent the Apollo space craft into space. The word of computing is making another major leap forward with the invention of quantum computing. Basically normal computers work with binary bits, which can be either 0 or 1. Quantum computers work with qubits, which take the form of a vector and thus can on far more forms. The results is that quantum computers should be leaps and bounds faster than normal computers and can tackle far more complex problems. Normal PC’s follow conventional calculation methods that humans can perform while quantum computers, thanks to the principal of superposition, use methods human minds could not fully handle. Unfortunately these PC’s are still in development by several technology giants and aren’t quite ready for the public. Still, this is a positive move. This means that, in a few years, you and I will have the power of quantum mechanics in our PC’s. Imagine a PC that could finish any task in the blink of an eye…could be fun. 10