There may be a solution

Have you ever been frustrated with your computer when it slows down, loses work or comes down with a nasty virus?  In a life surrounded by laptops, smart phones and tablets, we spent much if not the majority of our time inundated by technological marvels recently thought to be impossible.  Scientists, Engineers and Developers around the world are in a constant battle to keep our devices up-to-date while conceiving the “next great advancement” in our modern arsenal.

Studies predicting performance and optimization statistics are prepared regularly by organizations such as Berkeley in efforts stay ahead of the curve.  These studies along with well-known observations such as Moore’s Law predict that that processor capabilities double roughly every two years.  At this rate, some experts expect to reach out technological “ceiling” in approximately eighty years.  This would result in a halt to our “ever-advancing” progress in processing speed, capabilities and innovation.  Luckily for us, there are currently efforts to preempt this roadblock before it comes to pass.  The science of computer engineering and quantum physics join forces to explore the possibilities of Quantum Computing.

Quantum Computing, a broad term for Quantum Processing, refers to using quantum particles as a medium for storing and processing information.  This is being explored as an alternative for the traditional electron-based approach.  This fundamentally changes computing as we know it by drastically increasing the speed and capacity of both processors and memory.  Current technologies fall short in the sense that they can process information in only one of two forms at a time.  Groupings of positive or negative charges, often represented by ‘1s’ or ‘0s’, represent data to the machine at the hardware level.  Using only two states at a time limits our technological growth to only doubling with every advancement.  While this may seem substantial, with broadband, wireless and countless other networking capabilities we currently enjoy, we’re “evolving” at a much faster rate.

Quantum processing considers the approach of using different particles such as photons and quantum bits or “q-bits” to store and process information.  While current methods hold a positive OR negative charge to convey information, the quantum approach offers ways to hold a positive AND negative charge.  This essentially means that the machine can be in two different states at the same time.  Using this approach would render any proverbial “ceilings” obsolete.

After approximately forty years of research, quantum processing can be achieved at only a very small scale.  The problem is that, unlike the traditional Newtonian physics that most of us are accustomed to, quantum mechanics behave very differently at large scales than they do at smaller levels.  Scientists have been experimenting with potential solutions to this dilemma and have arrived at some potential solutions including using photons, and a combination of photons, electrons and quantum bits.  Unfortunately, over the last decade we have reached a plateau.  If forward movement isn’t motivated in this area, we may soon experience that very same “plateau” in terms of the performance of our every-day devices we have become some accustomed and, in many senses, dependent on.