this post was submitted on 04 Dec 2023
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This really is amazing to see. It feels like just year when we were discussing 1, 2, or 10 qubits.
Are there any/many current uses for these quantum computers?
For now they are only being used for research purposes. For example, simulating Quantum effects in many atom physics and implementing error correction for future quantum computers. Any real applications still need some time but the pace of development is really quite something.
Currently, there is basically only one real world application we really know: Factoring numbers into prime factors. And we can't know for sure whether there will be more even.
Sorry, but that's completely wrong. There has been a lot of research into quantum algorithms, and we have many examples besides Shor's algorithm, for example: https://www.amarchenkova.com/posts/5-quantum-algorithms-that-could-change-the-world
I am a physicist and truly appreciate the effect of quantum computing on our simulations, but with "real world" I meant proper industrial use. And for that, there are hardly any algorithms known except Shor's. When the CEO of Deutsche Bank says he will do his bank transactions on a quantum computer, you know the topic is over-hyped.
Edit: A video that explains this by a theoretical physicist working on the foundations of quantum mechanics
I understand that you can't just translate random algorithms to quantum computers and expect them to run better - but I did link an overview of 5 quantum algorithms that have real world uses, and Shor's is only one of them.
I don't consider Sabine Hossenfelder a person worth listening to. She frequently comments on topics she doesn't know much about/has a very biased view of (e.g. her transphobic video).
Yeah, Hossenfelder has had a bad habit of stepping outside of her lane. From what I've heard from physicists, she's questionable even inside her lane.
She might have strong opinions on particle physics and I do take them with a grain of salt, but I don't see objectively wrong things in there.
Given that you thought that factoring primes was the only real world application of QC, I frankly don't take your opinion here very seriously. Breaking encryption is one of the least interesting applications of QC. It's just the one that gets all the headlines. Yes, even for "proper industrial use".
Thanks for this productive discourse, not ad hominem at all. You're welcome to criticize my views and I'm happy to learn. And I am doing my physics masters, so I think I am no complete idiot. But this is also not productive.
Edit: I'm focusing on cosmology, I'm not claiming to be a quantum computing expert. That was just my last state of knowledge and I'm always happy to learn.
Focusing on what QC will do to encryption tends to mean you got most of your knowledge about them from pop sci articles. As you can see from this very thread, you're hardly alone in this, but it remains a big red flag for people who don't know what they're talking about on this subject.
Maybe I just mixed up the fact that proper industrial use is vastly overestimated/overhyped with that there is little use. I will do some research.
The pharmaceutical use alone would be revolutionary. There's a whole other discussion about how the pharmaceutical industry will continue to overcharge for drugs, but that's separate from the technology itself.
Are you talking about her video on trans athletes? I don't remember it being transphobic.
I'm talking about her video on transitions in general, not sure if you're referring to that or something else. She misrepresented the state of research (implying there's less research concluding transitions to be a good thing than there really is) and shared misinformation.
I don't think I was talking about this, interesting. Because in the video I mentioned she was fine with trans athletes competing together with cis athletes, which seemed very progressive to me. But I'm happy to be proven wrong.
I was talking about "Is being trans a social fad among teenagers?".
You're still wrong. Quantum computers have use for developing new medications through simulating chemical interactions, and in making logistics more efficient. The hit against encryption is vastly overrated, and may not even be feasible.