Quantum Computing and Future

Understand Quantum Computing and Its Impact on the Future of Business

Utpal Chakraborty

• Publisher: BPB Publications
• Year: 2022
• ISBN:
  9789389423266
• Topic: Computer Science
• Subtopic: Microsoft Programming
• Index: Computer Science

Be Prepared for a Revolutionary Transformation with Quantum Computing

Key Features
? Demystify concepts, working principles, and the process of Quantum Computing.
? Extensive coverage on various applications of Quantum Computing across industries and sectors.
? Learn how to harness the power of Quantum Computing and Artificial Intelligence in your business.

Description
The book 'Quantum Computing and Future' brings a holistic view of the potential of Quantum Computing across various industries and sectors. This book touches almost every area of application that can be benefitted from the capability of Quantum Computing, thus helping readers to understand how this innovative technology brings agility and transformation across enterprises. This book begins with concepts and principles of Quantum Computing followed by the process of quantum computing functions. It explains how Quantum Computing has led to transformation across sectors, including Healthcare, Banking, Finance, Genomics, Drug Discovery, Aviation, Tourism, Cryptocurrency, and Security. The book describes how an enterprise can leverage the tremendous capabilities of Quantum Computing and put its application in your business infrastructure for its optimal performance. You will see yourself most updated on the current progress of implementation of Quantum Computers and how their services can be available for enterprise use.By the end of the book, you will understand the enormous potential of Quantum Computing and how it is transforming businesses across different industries.

What you will learn
? Explore Quantum concepts and principles such as Superposition, Entanglement, and Interference.
? Understand how Quantum Computing is revolutionizing the Healthcare and Medicine fields.
? Understand how Quantum Computing is transforming the Banking and Finance sectors.

Who this book is for
This book is for IT and Non-IT professionals, developers, business analysts, business heads, CXOs, students, and researchers who are interested in Quantum Computing. Anyone who wants to know the latest trends and future of this cutting-edge technology will find this book helpful.

Table of Contents
1. An Overview of Quantum Computing
2. History of Quantum Physics and Dynamics
3. Quantum Concepts and Principles (Superposition, Entanglement and Interference)
4. Quantum Computing in Healthcare and Medicine
5. Quantum Computing in Banking and Finance
6. Quantum Computing in Drug Discovery and Research
7. Quantum Computing in Aviation, Travel, and Logistics
8. Quantum Computing in Crypto and Security
9. Quantum Computing in Space Exploration, Astronomical, and Weather Studies
10. Quantum Computing for Solving Complex Optimization Problems
11. Quantum Computing in Chemistry, Chemical Research and Agriculture
12. Quantum Computing in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
13. Quantum Computing for Optimizing Big Data
14. Quantum Computing for Simulation of Durable Battery Designs
15. Quantum Computing and Future of Autonomous Vehicles
16. Quantum Computing in Education and Research
17. How Quantum and AI Will Revolutionize Defense and Warfare?
18. Quantum Computing in Life Science
19. Quantum Computing in Cyber Security and Hacking
20. Quantum Computing in Movies and Cinemas
21. Quantum Computing in Spirituality and Mysticism
22. Quantum Computing in Robotics
23. Quantum Computing in Nuclear Research and Study of Atoms
24. Quantum Computing in Sports and Games
25. Quantum Computing in Traffic Optimization
26. Quantum Computing in Metaverse
27. Quantum Computing in Fintech, AI, and Sustainability
28. How Quantum Explains Human Consciousness?

CHAPTER 1

An Overview of Quantum Computing

Introduction

It was probably a mystery for many of us that why science and mysticism have such strong rivalry despite both being in the service of human wellbeing. They are like two distant islands in people's minds with literally no ferry service. There are metaphors in mysticism about the universe, sub-atomic particles, and human life in general which are so profound, logical, and compelling that always wondered me if those could have been useful guides for the scientific studies. A time will arrive soon when we see more and more applications around us based on Quantum Computing which is based on the real nature of the universe and the sub-atomic particles that our ancient spiritual scriptures had hinted a couple of thousand years back.

Quantum computing has the potential to transform every domain, every business, and every aspect of our lives, and Quantum-AI combination is going to be a bonanza for the humanity. Let's understand how. Google's quantum computer "Sycamore" has been able to solve a complex mathematical calculation in just 3 minutes that a powerful supercomputer would have taken approximately 10,000 years. We call it Quantum Supremacy in the world of Qubits when a quantum computer outperforms a classic supercomputer. Now, you can easily imagine that with this enormous computational speed combined with the power of AI how it's going to bring about a radical change in the way we perceive classic computing today:

Figure 1.1: Quantum Computer Internal View (Source: forbes.com)

A quantum computer is expected to be at least hundred million times faster than a classic computer. But it will be completely wrong if we think quantum computing will just bring extra speed because it will also bring some other significant dimensions specifically while combined with Machine Learning. Scientists and experts have already forecasted that Qubit in Quantum and Artificial Neurons in AI are going to essentially rule the scientific and technological arena of at least next two decades.

We also need to understand that quantum computing is not just a boon but essentially, the need of the day because the silicon revolution is slowly collapsing as it has almost reached its limit. The rise of quantum along with AI is going to manifest the whole spectrum of new possibilities in the field of science and technology.

The enormous power a quantum computer possesses due to the fact that it can harness some of the fundamental principles like superposition and entanglement of subatomic particles that a classic computer is not capable of. We will not go much into the details of Quantum Dynamics in this book, rather let's discuss how Quantum-AI combo can help the businesses and different industries.

First of all, quantum computers can solve the wide range of complex optimization problems in all domains that conventional computing struggles to perform in real time. These optimization challenges are intrinsic in the field of aviation, finance, manufacturing, logistics, drug research, medicine, etc.

In finance, some complex derivatives which are path-dependent; evaluating innumerous paths used to be computationally very expensive and difficult to understand their interdependence; hence, can never calculate the near-real-time with classic computers but quantum computers can easily compute those in real time. This will revolutionize the financial market study and prediction of stocks and crypto currencies.

Quantum computing has the potential to improve radiation therapy techniques in cancer treatment. It can help speed up medication development by reducing the time it takes and reducing negative effects. It will also result in significant changes in the fields of genetic research, preventative healthcare, personalized and precision medicine, critical care decisions, and "In Silico Simulations" for diverse drug designs. Furthermore, the much-discussed "digital health" can only become a reality in the genuine sense if the power of quantum computers can be harnessed and democratized.

In aviation, Airbus is doing RandD combining quantum and AI for optimization of structural wing box design which is a complex area of flight physics. Other applications pertaining flight safety, optimization of travel routes, travel time are just a few examples. Quantum has already proved to be super-efficient when it comes to optimizing complex flight systems. Also, the dream of building any superior decision support system can only come true when the astronomical volume of data can be processed and correlated leveraging Quantum and AI.

Google and Tesla are already using its quantum computer for its autonomous vehicle project for faster processing of information and hence immediate reaction to any situations. Quantum computing is transforming the security arena or the encryption world. Qubit states will eventually empower encryptions unhackable. The flipside is if a bad actor having access to a quantum computer, then it can literally break any advanced encryption that exists today.

Anomaly detection is a classic application of AI and machine learning in different domains and quantum computing is going to be revolutionized in this area. As per many experts, the day is not far when a meaningful machine learning application will be incomplete without quantum computing.

NASA is using its quantum computer for space exploration, astronomical and weather studies by analyzing data generated by telescopes. Google, IBM, Microsoft, and few other companies have already started using their quantum computers for various studies in a variety of fields.

Quantum can play a crucial role in any election campaigns and prediction of results as it has got an enormous processing power and speed to crunch data and bring inferences out in real time. Similarly, it can solve many Big Data problems by optimizing and accelerating search results and understanding the hidden patterns in a much better way.

Various studies in simulated environments are getting transformed using quantum computing capabilities, like in the field of chemistry, medicine, and genetics to understand the behavior and interactions of molecules and chemical compounds in a better way. Simulations of durable battery designs are already done using quantum computers:

Figure 1.2: Quantum Computing and Artificial Intelligence (Source: swissquantumhub.com)

Above all, quantum is going to have the biggest impact on AI and machine learning. Some of the classic ML problems like Linear System Solving can be way faster using the HLL algorithm; similarly, elementary ML techniques Principal Component Analysis (PCA) can be done much faster in quantum computers using the LMR algorithm and many more.

So, Quantum and AI are going to be a great combination and will prove to be panacea for many of the scientific and technological limitations the world today is restricted with and has started solving many unsolved facts.

CHAPTER 2

History of Quantum Physics and Dynamics

Quantum Physics or Dynamics initially looks bit confusing to everyone and that's quite normal as per many physicists. The reason being it completely contradicts the established facts of classical physics when it comes to subatomic particles. Many physicists describe quantum effects as weird and strange. The American physicist Richard Feynman said about the Quantum theory that was used to describe the tiny objects in the universe - I am not entirely convinced by the theories of quantum mechanics, but I find them interesting enough to cast doubt on common sense's ideas about physical reality. This weird nature of quantum mechanics has opened the path for the whole range of quantum applications today, including Quantum Computing, Teleportation and Quantum Cryptography, Quantum Life-Science, and many more that we will discuss in the subsequent chapters.

In the mid-1920s, physicists Max Born, Werner Heisenberg, and Pascual Jordan developed a coherent formulation of quantum mechanics known as Matrix Mechanics or . Matrix mechanics was the first conceptually autonomous and logically consistent formulation of quantum mechanics when was then used for calculations even in Quantum Computers. It was the foundation that was able to displace the Bohr's model of electron orbits. In the Bohr model of the atom, electrons travel in defined circular orbits around the nucleus. The orbits are labeled by an integer, the quantum number n. Electrons can jump from one orbit to another by emitting or absorbing energy.

Quantum mechanics is something entirely different. It's not an improvement on classical physics; rather it's a paradigm shift from the classical field of physics to a completely new field of how subatomic particles behave in our universe. Let's start from the beginning to understand it better.

We all know Rutherford showed that the atom has most of its mass concentrated at the center in the nucleus and electrons are very light charged particles that orbit around the nucleus. Also, in the year 1800's, Michael Faraday invented something called the theory of electromagnetism. And according to this theory, if a charged particle like an electron moves, it produces an electromagnetic field coming out of the electron. So according to this theory, if an electron is moved a bit up and down, there's a wave that propagates out from the electron, and we call this electromagnetic wave or radiation. This implies that in an atom, the electron should be losing energy while revolving around the orbit. And it should actually spiral toward the center of the atom and collapse in the nucleus very quickly. But in reality, it does not happen in that manner. So, there is something deeply wrong about this theory and the classical mechanics. Now to come up with a proper explanation to this the physicist took a long time to formulate something concrete that how a charged particle like an electron can be stable in its orbit.

The explanation they come up with is that electrons are not particles. They are essentially waves. And the electron is something like a cloud, a wave-like cloud, concentrated near the atomic nucleus. So, this explains the reason why the electron does not spiral in and collapse to the center of the nucleus. Erwin Schrodinger also invented an equation to explain the wave nature of the electron called Schrodinger's equation.

Another interesting fact also came out from a serious of experiments and mathematical derivations that the electron is a kind of a wave when you are not looking at it, but it's a particle when you look at it. This is called the famous Copenhagen Interpretation of quantum mechanics:

Figure 2.1: Quantum Physicists Diagram (Source: Jeffrey Strickland)

This is fascinating because we and everything around us is made from quantum physics and so the whole universe. These protons, neutrons, and electrons in quantum mechanics are essentially waves. These are also called wave functions to be more precise. Something called a probability distribution which tells us where more likely to find the electron in the wave function. And when we actually measure where the electron is, an electron particle pops up somewhere within this area. So, in quantum physics, we don't know anything with definite details. We can only predict probabilities that things will happen, and this is a fundamental feature of the universe which is quite different from the deterministic universe in classical physics. No one has ever seen a quantum wave because whenever we measure an electron, it becomes a particle. It's called Wave Particle Duality. It's called a Measurement Collapses the wave function.

This behavior of an electron was first observed in the famous Double Slit Experiment of Thomas Young. In 1965, Richard Feynman described a thought-experiment in which individual electrons were fired on a double slit. Contrary to the belief that electrons will pass through slits and create two similar bands in the wall placed on the opposite side, it created an interference pattern that normally seen in the waves:

Figure 2.2: (Source: Thomas Young's Double Slit Experiment)

The outcome of this experiment essentially tells us two things. Number one electrons behave like waves when fired through the two slits. It also tells us how the wave function collapses to a particle when it hits the wall. And this is not only true for electrons but everything in the universe. So, this double slit experiment has a huge implication on how we perceive the universe in a classical manner and what it actually is.

Also, when we study the interference pattern it forms in the wall, it also shows where the probability of finding an electron is highest which is called Probability Distribution. And it is very much possible that the probability of finding an electron at two places at the same time. This is known as Superposition which comes from the fact that this wave can be made by adding or superimposing two waves. This feature of a subatomic particle has been used in devising the Qubits in a quantum processor in a quantum computer.

Now, let's discuss another strange behavior of subatomic particles called Entanglement. When two electron waves meet and interfere with each other and become mixed up, then the interference relationship established between these two electrons remains intake even if they are separated far apart, thousands or millions of miles. This means that mathematically, we now have one wave function that describes everything about both electrons, and they're inextricably linked. Even if they move far away from each other a measurement on one of the electrons can talk about the other. It's just like correlated with a measurement on the other even if they move billions of miles away. This behavior of the el...