So let's get into more what this quantum computing can do

…What the computer allows you to do, is essentially take a series of calculations that may take thousands of steps on a normal computer, and to simplify things we’ll say you are essentially doing the equivalent of calculating the results in parallel in multiple universes, represented by a vibrational wave. Then you perform a measurement, but that first result doesn’t tell you the answer. It tells you only one of the possible answers. Then, if you do that measurement enough times, maybe 100 times or 1,000 depending on the problem, you get the probable result by the result you saw the most, along with the probability of the other results. The end result is that you can do something with hardware that will fit into a closet, what would take a conventional computer the size of the entire moon to compute…

…If you have been paying attention to science news, a big company and one of your space agencies teamed up to buy a computer that for some types of problems is thousands of times faster than any supercomputer you have to date and will within the next few years be millions of times faster than computers with even billions of processors…

…The age of quantum computing has started for mankind. This is like going from buggies and horses to planes and spaceships. …

a computer that for some types of problems is thousands of times faster than any supercomputer

As i understand it, the tests published so far pitted the D-wave “quantum” machine against general purpose traditional machines, which was described as somewhat unfair comparison. The real test would supposedly be quantum vs. optimized hardware and software.

The reportage also makes a big deal about whether the D-wave machine is really using quantum entanglement. Whatever. It’s clearly fast, and I think it’s amazing that the thing works at all.

Does it run Blender yet? :wink:

…For those who like playing games, the quantum computers will be eventually made so small they can fit inside of normal computers, and make your current graphics and physics seem like they are from thousands of years ago. You will be able to create worlds so realistic, that you will not know it is an artificial world. You will have to, in fact, put reminders in it so you don’t accidentally terminate your incarnation or hurt your body from believing too intensely something that happens in the artificial world…

…And, as we said before, quantum computers will help bridge the gap towards building sentient life forms that are robotic in nature…

A big misconception is that quantum computers will replace computer like we use today. Not all calculations can be done utilizing quantum phenomena, and even if it’s possible, must not be faster than classical computing algorithms. But there’s a set of problems that are realy well suited for quantum algorithms, especially for optimization problems it could be a huge step forward. I dont believe we will have any such machines for home use for quite a while, current hardware (see d-wave) needs to be cooled down to ~20 miliKelvin, is large (13 layers of shielding, all that cooling equipment) and very sensitive. There needs to be huge breakthroughs in areas like high temperature superconductors for this technology to be more than a niche product. And even then, i believe we will more likely still use semiconductor technology for general purpose computing, with Co-Processors used for specific calculations, like we’ve seen with Floating Point Math Coprozessors, and today with compute capabilities on graphics cards.

They will replace completely the actual computers.

Could you post a link?

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/514846/google-and-nasa-launch-quantum-computing-ai-lab I would say the technology has just started… (this is more of a special purpose computer). But lots of people are working on it so in the future we might see general purpose computers

You seem to have a great talent for ignoring every argument brought up and just carrying on with your fantasy, undisturbed.

There likely never will be a mass-market for quantum computers, because there simply is no use-case that warrants it. If there will be quantum computers that (economically) outperform regular computers (which, by the way, can simulate quantum computers) they will be in the datacenters of the future.

I agree that total replacement is a bold statement but your adamancy speaks volumes as well. “Regular” computers can simulate quantum computers; at a very small fraction of the speed and efficiency. It’s way too early to start talking about use cases.

“Regular” computers can simulate quantum computers; at a very small fraction of the speed and efficiency.

Speed and efficiency isn’t the concern, it’s the amount of qubits which makes simulation de-facto impossible at some point. I’m not too sure about the current state of affairs, but simulators probably are more efficient right now than actual quantum computers, from an economical point of view.

It’s way too early to start talking about use cases.

Why? If you can’t figure out a good use for quantum computers, there isn’t going to be much investment going into building them. We already can do quantum computing (even without quantum computers) and we can tell what’s going to be possible with hypothetical quantum computers.

I think time is a much more relevant factor than economics or what we might think we’ll want in the near future. When I was young, I would have never thought I would, or even want to carry a super computer in my pocket. There’s still a lot of debate over the practicality of quantum computers in respect to function, but there’s no empirical evidence what-so-ever that can tell us whether or not research can solve that problem. The current digital computers augment what we’re capable of and they’re going to keep getting more powerful at least for several years. <— Applying Moores’ Law to that would suggest that we’ll have tools that have a multiplicative of the power in a short amount of time. Data centers and research machines is what we would use quantum computers for now. It would stand to reason that it would be difficult for us to imagine what we’ll want when our entire environment is clad in smart devices and co-populated with robotic AIs.

Don’t you love when someone, based on their experience of old technology, gives out an afirmation that years later will make their face going red? It remembers you of Bill Gates talking about the RAM everyone needs for their computers! (512 KB)

Everyone will have a quantum computer. The real technology is not “science fiction” it is just “magic”. I can say things but it would put me in a situation where I would be ridiculed, then 10 years from now I would be proved right. Saying my source of info also would be ridiculed. You can do only what the world around you is prepared to hear. If you go out the box they go in aggressive mode. Why? Because is how “matrix” works. It is a control system that attacks.

Well, so I keep the super info until one day I can post, and only post minor info:

…A $10 million D-Wave Two quantum computer. The machine is the most advanced commercially available quantum computer in the world. USRA installed the device, which should be online by the end of September, at the new Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab at the Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, where researchers from USRA, NASA, and Google will put it use…

…That means Qubits can multitask, which results in outstanding power. “A quantum computer with 300 qubits could run more calculations in an instant than there are atoms in the universe,”…

…The lab will operate a 512-qubit quantum computer called the D-Wave Two, a machine that’s also being tested out by Lockheed Martin…

And the info I can’t say is about the name of the Lab you can read in the above paragraphs. That is going to happen in 10 years. And “this time” it will be for good, not for bad.

And because blonder needs links and this time I can post it:
http://theweek.com/article/index/244423/what-is-a-quantum-computer-mdash-and-why-does-google-need-one

D-Wave video

And Eric (the D-Wave guy) talks about it:

My Ai in my game uses a"Quantum plasmonic computer core" - for the story

this allows him to sort throught the infinate possiblilties of uses of everything he has learned…

Aka creativity…

My laptop uses gigs of RAM - not sure exactly how much, but most gamers prefer as much RAM as possible for fast graphics and processing.

There was a couple of reviews about quantum computing in Science a while ago. If you are interested, and have access to the journal I suggest you take a look.

Science, 2013, 339, 1164-1184

The D-Wave isn’t exactly a quantum computer. It’s a simulation of quantum computing with a digital computer. It’s digital hardware based upon quantum bits. Like I said before, it does quantum computing at a small fraction of the speed and efficiency as a quantum computer. A quantum computer processes logic at the quantum level by taking advantage of the natural behaviors of atoms. The D-Wave probably is the most impressive computer out there but I think it would be more accurately be called a nano computer because it is in fact a digital computer.

What an effort to weed out any potentially future belonging thought.

“I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.” – Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943.

“Where a calculator on the ENIAC is equipped with 18,000 vacuum tubes and weighs 30 tons, computers in the future may have only 1,000 vacuum tubes and weigh only 1.5 tons.” – Popular Mechanics, 1949


When you read this hopefully you know to whom this is aimed.
Back then i red a book where everyone had like communicator which could reach anyone in any place of the Earth. That was a SciFi. No, i do not mean 1943 or 49, guess it was late 60ies.