1/10/2016

NewsEverythingYouNeedToKnowAboutQuantumComputing

EverythingYouNeedToKnowAboutQuantumComputing
WrittenbyShaheryarEhsaniHaqueon09January2016at16:00

34
Overthelastmonthorso,QuantumComputingbecamethehottesttopicaroundwhen
GoogleboldlystatedthatitsDWave2XComputerwasa100milliontimes
fasterthantoday'scomputers.
Surethisallsoundsfantastic,ifalittlefanciful,sosurelytherehastobeacatchright?
Well,it'smorethanthat.TheDWave2Xisa512QubitPCwhichiskeptatafractionof
AbsoluteZerotemperaturetoachievemaximumperformance.Ontopofthatitrequires
atleasta10squaremeterroom.TheDWaveOnewaspricedatUS$10,000,000.
ImaginethepriceofDWave2X?BillGateswouldprobablyhavetothinktwicebefore
whippingouthischequebook.
SojustwhatarethebasicsofQuantumComputingandwhereexactlydoesQuantum
ComputinghaveanedgeagainstourtraditionalPCs?
QuantumComputing:
WhatisAnnealing?
Annealingisatechniqueoffindingtheglobalminimumandmaximumofagiven
function,throughanalgorithm.CurrentlytherearetwotypesofAnnealingwhichwe'llbe
discussing:SimulatedAnnealing,whichisusedineverydayPCs,andQuantum
Annealing,whichtechexpertshavetoutedasthefutureofcomputing.
SimulatedAnnealing:
SimulatedAnnealingisanalgorithmusedtosolvetotallyunconstrainedandbound
constrainedproblems.Themethodfollowsthemodelusedinmetallurgyand
crystallizationwherebythermaljumpsareusedtofindglobalmaximumtoanygiven
problemwhileusingtheminimumenergypossible.Inmetallurgythisisachievableby
loweringthetemperatureslowly.Basicallyyousearchforagoodsolutiontoaproblem
ratherthanthebestoneandgraduallymakeitthebestone,probingforanswer.
Thinkofitlikeamapofagiantlandscape,filledwithmountainsandvalleys.Onityou
aretryingtofindhelowestpossiblepoint.Withsimulatedannealing,youarescanning
overthatentirelandscapebitbybit,beforeyoureturnthecompletedatasetandhave
youranswer.
QuantumAnnealing:
QuantumAnnealingisanalgorithmwhichimpliestheuseofQuantummechanicsinan
adiabaticsystem.Anadiabaticsystemisoneinwhichthereisnoexternalinfluenceof
http://www.gamedebate.com/news/?news=18979&game=None&title=Everything%20You%20Need%20To%20Know%20About%20Quantum%20Computing

1/4

1/10/2016

NewsEverythingYouNeedToKnowAboutQuantumComputing

pressure,temperatureandsoforth.UnlikeSimulatedAnnealing,whichhastogo
throughseveraljumpstofindtheglobalminimaormaxima,QuantumAnnealing
basicallycutsstraightthroughthesehurdlestofindtheminima.Observethefollowing
picturefromWikipedia:

Sousingthelandscapeanalogyabove,quantumcomputingcansimplycutthroughthe
mountainsandvalleys,arrivingstraightatthecorrectanswerinafarquickerprocess.
Qubit:
AQubitisashortenedtermforaQuantumbit.QuantumBits,likeordinaryBits,canbe1
or0.AtfirstlookglanceitseemstotallysimilartoaregularBit,butaquantumbitis
alsocapableofbeingboth1and0statesatthesametime.Itessentiallymeansaqubit
canexistinmorethanonestateatanygiventime,andthemoreQubitstherearethe
moresimultaneousstatesitcanbein.This,alongwithquantumtunnelling,means
quantumcomputerscanworkonmanipulateallsortsofbitsandcombinationsofbits
simultaneously.
WhereDoesQuantumComputingHaveAnEdgeAgainstTraditional
Computing?
Firstofallobservetheabovediagram.YouwillclearlynoticethatQuantumTunnelingis
usingashorterpathtosolveagivenproblemwhileSimulatedAnnealinghastodo
periodicthermalJumpstoavoidthetraps.QuantumTunnelingsimplypenetratesthough
energybarrierswithoutanyadditionalcostwhatsoever.
ComingtotheDWave2X,GoogleandNASAtestedthiscomputerandatraditionalone
with3or4problems,suchasoneinvolvingDWaveagainstSimulatedAnnealing,
QuantumMonteCarloetc,orordertofindoutwhichwasthequickest.
Inthefirstpart,DWave2Xoutclassedatraditionalcomputerby1.8x10^8
http://www.gamedebate.com/news/?news=18979&game=None&title=Everything%20You%20Need%20To%20Know%20About%20Quantum%20Computing

2/4

1/10/2016

NewsEverythingYouNeedToKnowAboutQuantumComputing

(180,000,000)timesinaproblemwhichwasdesignedforthespecificfailureof
SimulatedAnnealing.Inthispart,SingleCorePerformancesofbothcomputerswere
compared.However,duetotheproblembeingexceptionallycomplex,theTraditionalPC
wouldresetseveraltimesanddistributetheloadacrossvariouscorestofindasolution
totheproblem.QuantumComputinghadnosuchissuedespitethefactthatnotall
QubitsinDWavewereproperlycalibrated.
SimilarlywhenDWavewasrunagainstQuantumMonteCarlo,ithadanadvantageof
10^8atmaxload.FurthercomparisonwithotherClassicalSolversandaswellasan
unverifiedclaimatthistimeofwritingshowsthatQuantumComputingclearly
possessesasubstantialadvantageagainstSimulatedAnnealingwhenitcomesto
specifictypesofproblemsolvingcomputing.
PromisingFactorsandImpactsofQuantumComputing
Withmuchpowercomesgreatresponsibility!
TheDWave2Xregardlessofitssize,maintenanceandotherfactorsoffers
extraordinarypowercomparedtoanyothercomputerstodate.Utilizationofthispower
forsomethingotherthansolvingcomplexbinaryproblemscouldleadtohugeadvance
inscientificresearch.Complexproblemsrelatedtoscience,medicalorotherfieldscould
besolvedinamatterofminutescomparedtohours,daysorevenyearswithother
commonannealers.
ForgeneralpurposecomputingandequationworktheDWave2Xisn'tevenflexingits
muscles.Itcanonlybefullyutilisedinthecreationofartificialintelligencemachinesand
othercomplexproblemsolvers.
IfthepotentialofQuantumComputingcouldbeunlockedformoregeneralusage,game
design,ingameartificialintelligence,orvirtualrealitycouldestablishitatanentirely
newlevel.AsQuantumComputingcanbeusedtofindtheminimumsolutiontoa
problem,itcanevenbeusedtowardswritingbugfreecodeoroptimising
performance.It'sfareasiersaidthandonethough,particularlywitha$10millionprice
tagattached.It'sunlikelywe'llevenbeginseeingquantumcomputerstestedinthese
situationsforthenextdecadeorso.
Aswellasthebruteforceperformance,moreconservationofenergywillbepossible
againduetotheprocessofquantumannealing.ThecomputersdevelopedbyGoogle
andNASAuseanadiabaticsystemmeaningthesurroundingtemperaturehaszero
effectontheworkingofcomputerwhichisworkinginafractionofAbsolutezero.
ControversiesOfDWave2X
1. PhysicistsarenottotallyinagreementregardingtheQuantumComputing
techniquesbeingusedinGoogle'sQuantumComputer.Someargueitisn'ttrue
quantumcomputing,withanumberofnonquantumeffectsbeingused.
2. Afewbelievethattheresultsobtainedfromtheseexperimentsarenotas
exceptionalasGoogleclaims.PerhapstheywantQuantumComputingtooutclass
Simulatedannealersandintheprocessintroducedanewprefixtomeasurethis
advantage.
3. ClaimsofDWavebeing100milliontimesfastercouldbeexaggerated,which
someclaimwasatrickfromDWave'smarketingdepartment.
Andasyouwouldpredict,Googleandfamilyhavethrownoutmoreresearchtobackup
theclaimsofQuantumComputinginDWave.Still,someremainunconvincedand
demandtheSimulatedAnnealersshouldbegivenmorefriendlyalgorithms.
Rightnowit'sfairtosaythatQuantumComputingisindeedahugeleapfromour
commonconventionalcomputerssuchastheIntelXeonE51650CPU@3.20GHzwhich
http://www.gamedebate.com/news/?news=18979&game=None&title=Everything%20You%20Need%20To%20Know%20About%20Quantum%20Computing

3/4

1/10/2016

NewsEverythingYouNeedToKnowAboutQuantumComputing

wasusedtodetermineoneofthetests.Googlehasn'tspecificallystatedthe
performanceboostwhencomparingmulticoresaswellastheoptimizationofprograms
onQuantumComputerseither.
QuantumComputingmayalsohaveaneffectontheprogramminglanguagesweuse
nowadays,withcommonthinkingbeingitwillmakethemmoreefficient.
Rightnow,thisisclearlythefirstgenerationofQuantumComputing,soit'sstillvery
muchinitsinfancy.Bythetimethe4thor5thgenerationsofQuantumComputingroll
around,wecouldwellhavethesecomputersinsmallerorlesssophisticatedformsin
ourhomes.
Wellthat'salotofreadGD'ers.IhopeyouallgotalittlegrasponwhatQuantum
Computingis,andjusthowcomplexatopicitistobroach.Leaveusyourthoughtsin
thecommentsaswellascheckoutthereferencesenclosedbelowforfurther
information.
References:
QuantumAnnealingResearchPaperRelatedToFiniteRange
TunnelingbyVasilS.Denchev,SergioBoixoandothers.
How"Quantum"istheDWaveMachine?bySeungWooShin,GraemeSmith
andothers.
DWave'sYearofComputingDangerouslybyIEEESpectrum
WhyIsThereSoMuchControversyAroundQuantumComputing?Quora
DefiningandDetectingQuantumSpeedupbyTroelsF.Rnnow,DanielA.Lidar
andothers

http://www.gamedebate.com/news/?news=18979&game=None&title=Everything%20You%20Need%20To%20Know%20About%20Quantum%20Computing

4/4