Quantum Supremacy: How Quantum Computers will Unlock the Mysteries of Science – and Address Humanity’s Biggest Challenges

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If the reader is a bit suspicious of both the future of computing and AI and how it will affect our lives, Kaku’s effort is heads above the numerous books I’ve read on quantum computing work, separately, and the great potential when working together. Kaku produces great insights and explanations of how they work together. As a physicist, his investigation clears up many of the challenging technical issues that are glossed over by non-scientist authors. This is a huge differentiator. Technological advancements have improved our quality and length of life. From sanitation to antibiotics and vaccines to better nutrition, we’ve taken the human race from lifespans of approximately 30 years to 70 years and improved the overall quality of those lifespans, too. But we’ve done all of this largely by trial and error. When it comes to things like cancer and Alzheimer's where there are so many factors at play we may never be able to find answers on our own, quantum computers may save us. The second factor is known as entanglement. This is when two atoms establish interaction with each other, sharing information, and keep that connection even when they’re separated at a great distance. Maybe I'm pessimistic but I think that if we rely on "mays" and "mights" rather than changing our behavior, we're going to be in an even bigger mess. Hopefully we can somehow manage to turn things around but we have no idea if we can. Me: Very well. I get this: quantum computers will change EVERYTHING. You've described the EVERYTHINNG. It was pretty interesting, and some of this information was new to me.

A personal ’90s music overview that is far from definitive, but nevertheless instructive and often poignant. While Kaku does give an interesting survey of some currently unsolved problems, at times he insults the reader's intelligence. For example: Microsoft is one company that cannot wait to solve the nitrogen-fixing problem. It already is using first-generation quantum computers to see if the mystery of this process can be uncovered. The implications are profound, with the potential to create a Second Green Revolution and feed an exploding world population with lower energy costs. Failure to do so could have disastrous side effects, as we’ve seen, perhaps leading to riots, famine, and wars.Kaku seems unaware that success could also have disastrous side effects, such as enabling the exploding human population to keep exploding until we run into the next limiting factor. Part II: Quantum Computers. This part describes the various types and architectures of quantum computers, such as superconducting, trapped ion, photonics, topological, and quantum annealing. It also discusses the challenges and limitations of building and operating quantum computers, such as scalability, error correction, and noise. Science, Technology and the Future, History, Society, Culture, Nonfiction, Physics, Business, Computers, Engineering, Computer Science, Quantum Physics, Theories of Science, Quantum Theory, Social Aspects of Technology, Artificial Intelligence and Semantics Table of Contents

Thanks to all of these inventions and discoveries, we understand the pieces and processes needed to produce the energy that sustains life. But there are still many obstacles to overcome. Just like Haber’s crude process for nitrogen-fixing, many of our attempts at coming up with clean energy are actually sourced through unsustainable means, and our efforts at discovery are still done largely by trial and error. Me: Yes, but how exactly does it work? You explained pretty well how digital computers function. You told their history. Anyway, I've known this already. For example, in digital computers computation is based on Boolean algebra and bit math. Now I'd like to understand how quantum computation works. Cancer isn’t a foreign invader; it’s created by our own healthy cells. Once we reach adulthood, some cells are programmed to die as others divide. In the case of cancer, healthy cells forget to die off and instead reproduce at an alarming rate. When we can better understand our planet and our universe, we can not only improve the life and longevity of our planet, we can truly become an interplanetary species. Summary

Thus we have another moving-target situation. While we're waiting for quantum computers to become actually able to model the chemistry of a new kind of battery with accuracy to rival an actual laboratory test, laboratory testing itself will become easier as robots replace human technicians. And what about impurities? A quantum computer could more easily simulate an ideal mixture of chemicals, while in any real device there will be impurities. Chemists who do not use quantum computers to model chemical reactions will go bankrupt,” he says. “They’ll be out of a job. They’ll be replaced by chemists who do use quantum computers. This means all medicine. All medicine can eventually be reduced to a quantum computer.”

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What does quantum computing have in common with the Oscar-winning movie “Everything Everywhere All at Once”? One is a mind-blowing work of fiction, while the other is an emerging frontier in computer science — but both of them deal with rearrangements of particles in superposition that don’t match our usual view of reality. So, if you enjoy the multiverse of comic books or any other fiction that explores parallel dimensions, Everett is the man to thank. Kaku’s assessment of the potential impact goes a lot further: In his view, any problem that involves sifting through a multiverse worth of possibilities will become more solvable once the quantum revolution takes hold. Energy generation and storage, food production, climate modeling, disease treatment and genetic repair are all potential targets for quantum supremacy. Unfortunately, this is my least favorite Michio Kaku book. It was disappointing because he's one of my favorite authors, but I'll still be looking forward to his next.

But just two years later, the Quantum Innovation Institute in China claimed that their quantum computer was 100 trillion times faster than supercomputers. It ran on 113 qubits. When discussing each potential application, Kaku typically just makes the claim that quantum computers will help, without clearly explaining how and why (beyond giving the general sense that quantum computers will effectively act as greatly-sped-up "classical" computers). Kaku skips the details of how a person might program a quantum computer; for that he defers to a list of books in a Selected Reading section, including:Computer scientists might take issue with Kaku’s digital doomsaying — but there’s little doubt that quantum computers will transform the field as much as artificial intelligence is transforming it today. In 1901, off the coast of a Greek island called Antikythera, researchers discovered the remains of a first-century trading ship. On that ship, they found Roman artifacts that they speculate were being sent as a gift to Julius Caesar. Now, you’re probably already wondering, How do I get my hands on one of these quantum computers? Why isn’t all technology already based on quantum computing? Well, the problem is that there’s one primary challenge, and it has to do with something called coherence. Author: Because quantum computers will be much more powerful than classical computers, millions times faster.

That being said, I must admit there were moments where the complexity of the subject matter outpaced Kaku's explanatory prowess. This isn't so much a criticism of Kaku's writing as it is a testament to the sheer complexity of quantum mechanics. Even though Kaku takes great pains to simplify and explain, there are sections of the book that may require a second or third reading to fully comprehend. The consequences of climate change range from mildly inconvenient to catastrophic, and the fact is that we can no longer prevent disaster, we can only mitigate it. When a quantum computer can outperform a digital computer at a specific task, it’s known as quantum supremacy. Clearly, this point has already been reached. What’s more, we’ve only just scratched the surface of what’s possible. It's a fun book on one hand, but annoying on the other. All those "mights" and "mays" about drove me nuts. He discusses why our current supercomputers are unable to solve these problems and how quantum computers could. He breaks the problems down to their molecular levels to show how they could be solved with enough computational power.

An oddly entertaining collection of essays that covers more than 100 songs but doesn’t really explain the decade that created them—which may be beside the point. This idea led Feynman to create his path integral formulation. Isaac Newton had invented calculus to solve problems that involved motion. The path integral formulation solved those same problems in a much simpler way and it paved the way for yet more quantum discoveries.