We break down the recent technological breakthroughs in Quantum, explain why they (may) be such a big deal, and review the current challenges that need to be overcome before we all our passwords cease to work

Firstly, what is Quantum computing?

Before we dive into the recent technological breakthroughs, let's briefly paint some context on the end vision for quantum computing.

You can obviously just type into ChatGPT "Explain quantum computing like I'm five", but we've taken the courtesy of doing this for you, plus we've also added our own interpretation and included some nifty analogies (if we do say so ourselves)…

A very basic explanation

Classical computers process information using bits, with each bit represented as either value 0 or 1.

Quantum computers process information using qubits, which, unlike classical bits, can exist in a superposition of 0 and 1 simultaneously.

Superposition means they can quasi-exist in either state, and only once the qubit is actually observed will its final state be revealed.

Take the below meme:

Once the cabinet door is open, the plates will likely fall and break (excluding some serious feat of agility by the opener).

Therefore, the plates exist in this quasi-dual state, where they are both perfectly fine and smashed at once, all dependent on the cabinet door being opened.

The cabinet door can be taken in this analogy to be an observation of the quantum bits' (plates) position; just like the plates, the quantum bits can be either value 0 or 1, and only observation will determine their final state.

This video by 3Blue1Brown does a good job of diving deep into the nuances of the fundamentals of quantum computing, if you'd like to get an actual understanding of the key concepts:

Full article dropping Monday…

We'll email you when it's live.