Abstract

Quantum computation is slowly becoming mainstream, as research on it is picking up pace, but can it really become part of our everyday life given how much our society depends on classical computation? This paper will discuss what quantum computation is and the effects it can have on the way our society works.

Introduction

Quantum computation is a new domain of computation techniques that has been slowly setting its roots in the world of science over the past few decades. Rather than improve upon what already exists, it is a completely new domain that works on several new principles. Since it will directly affect the societies we live in, it is important to consider just how it would do so.

How will quantum computation bring change to the society we live in?

Before delving into what quantum computation is, and what it is capable of, we must understand what classical computation is and what advancements have come to light since its first instance.

Classical Computation

Classical computation is the computation done through means termed “classical” as they have been used for quite some time. Classical computation is quite limited in physical terms. As classical computation is done using discrete states i.e., which can either be on or off, we cannot do everything with a limited set of states unless we increase the number of states.

If we use finite automata to compute something then we can only do so till our physical limitations allow us to i.e., we cannot have an infinite number of states. The idea of Turing Machines came from this concept, as that gives us an infinite tape on which to carry out the computations. However, it is infinite only in theory as it cannot physically exist. So, in order to make classical computation more powerful and efficient, there have been several enhancements to it that have been modeled in interesting ways. These include the idea of reversibility and probabilistic logic. These ideas were still inherently limited and so came the concept of Quantum Computation.