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Quantum Computing – Key Discussion Points

At a recent event, I was asked a question on the kind of problems a quantum computer could solve that a classical computer cannot. The audience were also keen to understand why quantum computers were able to do things that classical computers have historically struggled with. A quantum computer could potentially model nature and the complexities that lie within. Classical computers are yet to scale to that extent as bits exist in two states. The ability of quantum systems to exist in superpositions allows them to deal with the problems of exponential. In order to understand how quantum computers can, in effect, leapfrog innovations in several industries, it is critical to understand the fundamental principles of quantum physics that underlie quantum computing.

Many of these principles of quantum physics have evolved over a century, and have a particular weirdness about them, as they are often counter-intuitive to minds that have dealt with behavior and the physics of macroscopic objects. I have tried to capture the core principles of quantum computing (as they are understood today) that can explain the behavior of subatomic elements that quantum physics deals with. The best way to understand them in detail would be to learn the physics and math underlying these concepts. However, the purpose of this book is to look at the practical applications of quantum computing. So, I have put together real-life examples, and relied upon very little math and physics to explain these concepts. The remainder of this chapter will discuss these concepts, starting with superposition.