Far from commercially feasible, but more than possible, one day quantum computing will transform reality.
We have seen exponential growth in computing power over the past two decades. From bulky, sluggish computers to handheld and ultra-fast computing devices, namely smartphones, the technology and capabilities of hardware have come a long way. Now, we have surpassed our own innovation with quantum computing. Quantum computers are capable of handling complex problems with ease that may exceed the capabilities of modern digital computers or take years to solve.
Recently, Google made headlines by announcing an achievement in quantum computing supremacy. IBM also made a buzz about their supercomputer being blazingly fast. The power and performance of quantum computers are impressive, but that doesn’t mean existing software will run incredibly fast on them. Quantum computers work differently and are able to solve certain types of problems really fast.
Have you ever wondered what these machines actually do and what their uses are? In this article, we’ll discuss 6 incredible uses of quantum computing in different fields.
1. Weather Forecasting
Weather affects nearly 30 percent of the United States GDP ($6 trillion) directly or indirectly, according to Rodney F. Weiher, an NOAA chief economist. A better weather forecast can provide more time to avoid disasters which can immensely benefit many sectors like crops, transportation, retail, and many other businesses.
This has been a long-time goal of scientists but too many variables are making simulations lengthy which a classic computer cannot handle. According to quantum researcher Seth Lloyd, it would take classical computers longer to simulate an analysis than an actual weather event.
Hartmut Neven, director of engineering at Google noted that quantum computers are capable enough to build better climate models. These models then can be used to simulate different conditions for accurate future warnings and will give a lot of time to take cover. The Met Office, the United Kingdom’s national weather service, is already developing such a system.
2. Artificial Intelligence
It is said that AI will be to the 21st century what electricity was to the 20th century. AI works by learning from experience and becomes more accurate over time. The output is based on an enumeration of several possible options. These choices can be a huge number, so quantum computing is needed for an AI to become truly intelligent.
Aerospace company Lockheed Martin plans to use its D-Wave quantum computer to test complex autopilot software, which cannot be handled by current computers. Google is working on software that uses quantum computers to distinguish cars from landmarks. We are already at the point where AI is creating more AI.
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3. Molecular Modeling
Chemical reactions create highly entangled quantum superposition states in nature. Quantum chemistry is so complex that existing computers cannot analyze it. Ordinary computers can only analyze simple molecules.
Only a quantum computer is capable of easily evaluating complex molecules. Google has already simulated the energy of hydrogen molecules with the help of quantum computers. We can apply this technology to make more efficient products, from solar panels to medicines and fertilizers. Fertilizer production uses two percent of global energy production. More efficient methods of production will save on energy.
4. Cryptography
Most of the security algorithms in those days are based on the difficulty of dividing large numbers into prime numbers. Digital computers take an immense amount of time to search through every possible factor which makes cracking the code impractical and a lot more expensive.
Quantum computers can handle these factoring more efficiently. In the upcoming time, current security methods will become obsolete. New cryptography methods are under development. In August 2015, the National Security Agency introduced a cryptography method to resist quantum computers. In April 2016, the National Institute of Standards and Technology introduced a quantum computer-resistant algorithm.
5. Particle Physics
Researchers are already taking advantage of quantum computing as the models of particles are very complex. The numerical simulation requires a vast amount of computing time. Researchers of the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information and the University of Innsbruck used a programmable quantum computer to simulate a numerical simulation. The team used a simple quantum computer to simulate ions performing logical operations. The results were more accurate compared to the actual experiments.
Theoretical physicist Peter Zollar stated that we can’t replace the new results with the original ones done in particle colliders. But we can use this quantum simulation to understand the experiments better.
6. Finances
The modern market is one of the most complex systems in existence. Although we have developed highly sophisticated tools to run the system, there is one drawback, we cannot run experiments like in other fields.
The advantage of using quantum computers in finance could be to aid in many financial tasks such as arbitrage, which may require a lot of path-dependent steps. The number of possibilities can easily exceed the capacity of modern digital computers.
Banks, cyber security firms, aerospace companies, pharmaceuticals, everyone is looking to take advantage of quantum computing. Investors are scuffling to enter the quantum computing ecosystem. We have seen many incredible uses of quantum computing to date, but many of them are still unexplored. As hardware capabilities increase, we will see new opportunities being created.
