As an undergraduate at the University of Oregon, Matthew “Matt” Kafker studied physics and mathematics. Matt Kafker graduated with his bachelor of science in the subjects in 2020. One of the last classes Matt Kafker took focused on quantum computing, an exciting new field with the promise to propel scientific progress.
Many people are familiar with the concept of classical computing, which drives the computers and other digital devices we use every day. However, these systems have their limits and are unable to tackle problems beyond a certain size and complexity. To address these problems, researchers are turning to quantum computing, which uses the concepts of superposition and entanglement. These concepts are part of quantum mechanical phenomena.
Superposition is the combination of different quantum states to create a new one, sort of like combining two musical tones into a harmony that sounds different and distinct. Entanglement is the concept that two quantum states cannot be described apart from each other and it is closely related to superposition.
Classical computing stores data in bits, which are binary states of ones and zeros. Quantum computers use qubits, which rely on the quantum mechanical phenomena mentioned above. Qubits are made using superconductivity, which can create and maintain a quantum state. Superconducting qubits must be kept cold, as any heat can introduce error, so quantum computers exist in temperatures close to absolute zero. The advantage of qubits is that they can handle magnitudes more computational operations than traditional bits to solve problems that would be impossible to approach with classical computing.
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