A quantum computer is a computer that exploits quantum

mechanical phenomena. On small scales, physical matter exhibits properties

of both particles and waves, and quantum computing leverages this behavior
using specialized hardware. Classical physics cannot explain the operation of
these quantum devices, and a scalable quantum computer could perform some
calculations exponentially faster[a] than any modern "classical" computer.
Theoretically a large-scale quantum computer could break some widely used
encryption schemes and aid physicists in performing physical simulations;
however, the current state of the art is largely experimental and impractical, with
several obstacles to useful applications.
The basic unit of information in quantum computing, the qubit (or "quantum bit"),
serves the same function as the bit in classical computing. However, unlike a
classical bit, which can be in one of two states (a binary), a qubit can exist in
a superposition of its two "basis" states, a state that is in an abstract sense
"between" the two basis states. When measuring a qubit, the result is
a probabilistic output of a classical bit. If a quantum computer manipulates the
qubit in a particular way, wave interference effects can amplify the desired
measurement results. The design of quantum algorithms involves creating
procedures that allow a quantum computer to perform calculations efficiently and
quickly.
Quantum computers are not yet practical for real work. Physically engineering
high-quality qubits has proven challenging. If a physical qubit is not
sufficiently isolated from its environment, it suffers from quantum decoherence,
introducing noise into calculations. National governments have invested heavily
in experimental research that aims to develop scalable qubits with longer
coherence times and lower error rates. Example implementations
include superconductors (which isolate an electrical current by
eliminating electrical resistance) and ion traps (which confine a single atomic
particle using electromagnetic fields).
In principle, a classical computer can solve the same computational problems as
a quantum computer, given enough time. Quantum advantage comes in the form
of time complexity rather than computability, and quantum complexity
theory shows that some quantum algorithms are exponentially more efficient
than the best-known classical algorithms. A large-scale quantum computer could
in theory solve computational problems unsolvable by a classical computer in any
reasonable amount of time. This concept of extra ability has been called
"quantum supremacy". While such claims have drawn significant attention to the
discipline, near-term practical use cases remain limited.
History
[edit]
For a chronological guide, see Timeline of quantum computing and
communication.
For many years, the fields of quantum mechanics and computer science formed
distinct academic communities.[1] Modern quantum theory developed in the
1920s to explain perplexing physical phenomena observed at atomic scales, [2]
[3]
and digital computers emerged in the following decades to replace human
computers for tedious calculations.[4] Both disciplines had practical applications
during World War II; computers played a major role in wartime cryptography,
[5]
and quantum physics was essential for nuclear physics used in the Manhattan
Project.[6]
As physicists applied quantum mechanical models to computational problems
and swapped digital bits for qubits, the fields of quantum mechanics and
computer science began to converge. In 1980, Paul Benioff introduced
the quantum Turing machine, which uses quantum theory to describe a simplified
computer.[7] When digital computers became faster, physicists faced
an exponential increase in overhead when simulating quantum dynamics,
[8]
prompting Yuri Manin and Richard Feynman to independently suggest that
hardware based on quantum phenomena might be more efficient for computer
simulation.[9][10][11] In a 1984 paper, Charles Bennett and Gilles Brassard applied
quantum theory to cryptography protocols and demonstrated that quantum key
distribution could enhance information security.[12][13]
Quantum algorithms then emerged for solving oracle problems, such
as Deutsch's algorithm in 1985,[14] the Bernstein–Vazirani algorithm in 1993,
[15]
and Simon's algorithm in 1994.[16] These algorithms did not solve practical
problems, but demonstrated mathematically that one could gain more
information by querying a black box with a quantum state in superposition,
sometimes referred to as quantum parallelism.[17]

Peter Shor (pictured here in 2017) showed in 1994

that a scalable quantum computer would be able to break RSA encryption.
Peter Shor built on these results with his 1994 algorithm for breaking the widely
used RSA and Diffie–Hellman encryption protocols,[18] which drew significant
attention to the field of quantum computing. In 1996, Grover's
algorithm established a quantum speedup for the widely
applicable unstructured search problem.[19][20] The same year, Seth Lloyd proved
that quantum computers could simulate quantum systems without the
exponential overhead present in classical simulations, [21] validating Feynman's
1982 conjecture.[22]
Over the years, experimentalists have constructed small-scale quantum
computers using trapped ions and superconductors.[23] In 1998, a two-qubit
quantum computer demonstrated the feasibility of the technology, [24][25] and
subsequent experiments have increased the number of qubits and reduced error
rates.[23]
In 2019, Google AI and NASA announced that they had achieved quantum
supremacy with a 54-qubit machine, performing a computation that is impossible
for any classical computer.[26][27][28] However, the validity of this claim is still being
actively researched.[29][30]