So what can quantum computing do better than classical computing?

 There isn't presently a use case for quantum computers that can't be done with classical computers, thus the fact is that classical computers can already solve every problem that quantum computers will be able to.

Gasman informs me that the issue is that it will take traditional computers so long to resolve them that anyone beginning to seek the solution today would already be deceased!

They might be especially helpful for a class of issues known as optimization difficulties. Imagine a traveling salesperson who needs to visit several cities in any sequence, without going backward, and who must do so while traveling the least distance (or taking the lowest amount of time) feasible. Elementary maths can demonstrate that the number of possible routes increases dramatically once there are more than a few towns, on the order of millions or billions. This implies that, if we're using traditional binary computing, calculating the distance and time required for each of them in order to identify the fastest can use a significant amount of processing power.

This has implications for a variety of fields, including tracking and routing financial transactions across international financial networks, creating new materials by modifying their physical or genetic characteristics, and even figuring out how the environment is affected by changing climatic patterns.

"The ones that have the most potential are, I'd say, in extremely major institutions," Gasman says to me. Do you really want Goldman Sachs to entrust a billion dollars in your care to some cutting-edge technology, though, if you're a large corporation? There will need to be some degree of trust built up. However, each of the major banks today has its own quantum team looking at possibilities for the next five to ten years.

What is quantum computing?

 Quantum computing is a difficult subject to grasp, much like anything else involving the quantum (sub-atomic) world. Fundamentally, the phrase refers to a new (or upcoming) generation of incredibly fast computers that process information as "qubits" (quantum bits) as opposed to the standard bits — ones and zeroes — of classical computing.

Since they are built on electrical circuits and switches that can be turned on (one) or off, traditional computers are actually simply very sophisticated versions of pocket calculators (zero). They can store and analyze any information by connecting a bunch of these ones and zeros. The fact that big data requires a lot of ones and zeroes to represent it, however, means that its performance is constantly constrained.

The qubits of quantum computing can exist in a wide variety of states as opposed to just plain ones and zeroes. They could be able to exist as both one and zero at the same time due to the peculiar features of quantum physics (quantum superposition). In addition, they can be in any condition between one and zero.

According to Gasman, "That means you can accomplish some tasks significantly quicker on a quantum computer because you can handle a lot more information on a quantum computer. Whoopee I can do this in two hours instead of two days isn't always as important as whoopee I can do this in two hours instead of nine million years".

According to some predictions, quantum computers would function 158 million times faster than the fastest supercomputers now in use. Nine million years may sound like the kind of statistic that people only use when they are exaggerating.

There is one significant limitation, though: At the moment, only a small number of applications truly take advantage of quantum computers. You shouldn't anticipate being able to just put a quantum processor into your Macbook and perform all of your current tasks millions of times faster.

Future, Applications, And Challenges Of Quantum Computing

 There is an upcoming generation of computer technology that many believe may someday double the computational power accessible to humanity by times of hundreds or perhaps million. If this occurs, we may be able to do many important activities much more quickly, including the research and testing of new medicines and the comprehension of the effects of climate change.

The computing capacity available to humans might potentially be multiplied by hundreds of thousands or perhaps millions in the future thanks to an emerging generation of computer technology. If this happens, we could be able to do a number of crucial tasks more rapidly, such as understanding the consequences of climate change and researching and testing novel medications.

Computers have greatly expanded our capabilities, but they have also forced us to confront a fresh set of issues, particularly those related to the dangers they bring to security and encryption. And given their complexity and the small number of jobs for which they have been demonstrated to be more effective than classical computer technology, some people believe that quantum computers may really never be useful at all.

So, with the help of my most recent podcast guest, Lawrence Gasman, co-founder and president of Inside Quantum Technology and author of more than 300 research publications, I've put up a summary of where we are with quantum computing now and where we want to go in the future.

Technology news articles

 On Mars, NASA produced enough oxygen to keep an astronaut alive for 100 minutes.

Future crewed missions now have enough oxygen for around 100 minutes according to NASA's MOXIE experiment on Mars.

In 2021, NASA's test to create breathable oxygen on Mars produced enough oxygen for around 100 minutes. It will now be expanded to accommodate upcoming human exploration.

A tiny oxygen-producing gadget called the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) was launched onto Mars in February 2021 by the Perseverance rover.

During that year, MOXIE was able to consistently create 15 minutes of oxygen per hour under a range of challenging planetary settings over the course of seven-hour-long production runs. This totaled 50 grams of oxygen, which is equivalent to 100 minutes worth of breathing oxygen for one astronaut.

According to Michael Hecht, co-leader of the MOXIE experiment at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Haystack Observatory, "At the highest level, this is really a wonderful success."

Hecht claims that MOXIE continues to produce high-purity oxygen day or night, in various extreme temperatures, and after a dust storm.

The NASA team is currently working to develop a larger version of the device that would be able to produce enough oxygen to power a rocket back to Earth in addition to providing enough life support for a crewed voyage to Mars.

In order to pull carbon dioxide from the Martian atmosphere, MOXIE needs pumps, compressors, and heaters that can elevate the air's temperature to 800°C (1470°F).

The oxygen gas is then released after the equipment separates the oxygen atoms from the carbon dioxide and has been measuring it with MOXIE.

Gerald Sanders at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, warns that scaling up this technique will present some difficulties.

One of these is the ability to insulate a larger MOXIE version in order to control its interior temperature. Another is to make sure the device heats up evenly in order to prevent it from breaking.

Additionally, according to Sanders, MOXIE's runs have only lasted an hour each, but an oxygen device that can support a human expedition would need to run constantly for around 400 days.

No matter the technology, he remarks, "that's a lot of hours to put on the hardware."

Nevertheless, Sanders claims that MOXIE's first year of success has been a significant step in demonstrating the technology's potential.

NASA is now testing the required equipment at a scale appropriate for a human mission. The larger model's size, which is probably around a cubic meter, shouldn't be an issue for launches.