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Can quantum computing do even basic math yet? I think this was the holdup. Or perhaps I'm missing the point.

by pmarreck 7mo ago

GeoSys 7mo ago
It doesn't do basic math ... just the hard one :)
bawolff 7mo ago
> I think this was the holdup It isn't...
georgeburdell 7mo ago
[flagged]
- qnleigh 7mo ago
  This comment is wildly inappropriate and violates the community guidelines here. I suggest you delete it.
qnleigh 7mo ago
This is a good question, and currently the answer is no. Quantum computers can only run very short, simple algorithms right now, because the qubits they're built out of are noisy. You need a lot of error correction, which the community is working on. The thing is, unlike ordinary computers, quantum computers can factor numbers about as easily as they can multiply them. So as soon as they can multiply two large integers, they'll also be able to factor the result and break RSA encryption based on keys of that size. This blog post gives a good sense of the state of the art and what progress might look like: Why haven't quantum computers factored 21 yet? https://algassert.com/post/2500 https://algassert.com/post/2500
- Foobar8568 7mo ago
  And isn't the response already known in the validation process?
  - qnleigh 7mo ago
    I don't understand your question. Can you elaborate?
    - Foobar8568 7mo ago
      Replication of quantum factorisation records with a 8bits home computer, Abacus and a dog
      - nlarew 6mo ago
        What are you trying to say here? This makes no sense.
        Foobar8568 6mo ago
        That's a famous paper that debunk a lot of things related to marketing announcements. Basically nothing has truly factorized 15, let alone 21.
aaron695 7mo ago
[dead]
northlondoner 6mo ago
I think "basic math" here means arithmetic or similar. Solutions exists, but current machines are noisy: V. Vedral, A. Barenco, and A. Ekert, Quantum net- works for elementary arithmetic operations, Physi- cal Review A 54, 147 (1996).
deleted 6mo ago
[deleted]

Can quantum computing do even basic math yet? I think this was the holdup. Or perhaps I'm missing the point.

GeoSys 7mo ago

It doesn't do basic math ... just the hard one :)

bawolff 7mo ago

> I think this was the holdup It isn't...

georgeburdell 7mo ago

[flagged]

qnleigh 7mo ago
This comment is wildly inappropriate and violates the community guidelines here. I suggest you delete it.

qnleigh 7mo ago

This is a good question, and currently the answer is no. Quantum computers can only run very short, simple algorithms right now, because the qubits they're built out of are noisy. You need a lot of error correction, which the community is working on. The thing is, unlike ordinary computers, quantum computers can factor numbers about as easily as they can multiply them. So as soon as they can multiply two large integers, they'll also be able to factor the result and break RSA encryption based on keys of that size. This blog post gives a good sense of the state of the art and what progress might look like: Why haven't quantum computers factored 21 yet? https://algassert.com/post/2500 https://algassert.com/post/2500

Foobar8568 7mo ago
And isn't the response already known in the validation process?
- qnleigh 7mo ago
  I don't understand your question. Can you elaborate?
  - Foobar8568 7mo ago
    Replication of quantum factorisation records with a 8bits home computer, Abacus and a dog
    - nlarew 6mo ago
      What are you trying to say here? This makes no sense.
      - Foobar8568 6mo ago
        That's a famous paper that debunk a lot of things related to marketing announcements. Basically nothing has truly factorized 15, let alone 21.

aaron695 7mo ago

[dead]

northlondoner 6mo ago

I think "basic math" here means arithmetic or similar. Solutions exists, but current machines are noisy: V. Vedral, A. Barenco, and A. Ekert, Quantum net- works for elementary arithmetic operations, Physi- cal Review A 54, 147 (1996).

deleted 6mo ago

[deleted]