What's the use of the progress of quantum computers in China?

1. Provide more accurate weather forecast.

Ray Johnson, a member of the board of directors of QxBranch, a quantum computer startup, said that even if the most sophisticated instruments are used to analyze temperature and pressure, there will be too many possibilities, and meteorological simulation is changeable, and most of the current weather forecasts are only rough guesses after analysis. But quantum computers can analyze all the data at once and provide us with a better model to accurately show when and where bad weather will happen. We can know in advance that hurricanes and other disasters are coming and have extra time to save more lives.

Hartmut Neven, the engineering director of Google (Weibo), also pointed out that quantum computers can help to build a better meteorological model, which can help us to know more about how human beings affect the environment and help us to determine what measures can be taken to prevent disasters now. In the long run, knowing more about the trend of climate change will be of great help to us.

2. The drug research and development process is more efficient.

Developing a new drug is a very complicated process. Chemists need to carry out countless experiments on different molecular combinations to find out the characteristics of drugs that can really cure diseases effectively. This process may take years and cost millions of dollars. But when chemists put these combinations into later experiments, many combinations will still fail.

The quantum computer can draw trillions of molecular combination patterns and quickly determine the most possible combination, which will greatly save research and development costs and drug research and development time. Compared with the way we currently use, quantum computers can sequence human genetic analysis faster, which will help to develop personalized drugs and health care methods.

For example, many drugs can't be put into the market now, because some people have a particularly serious reaction to them. For this reason, we usually choose to give up this drug, although it may be of great help to many people. With the emergence of personalized genetic analysis and a better understanding of drug principles, we will be able to predict these adverse reactions.

There are no more traffic jams.

Quantum computers can simplify the workload of air and ground traffic control because they are good at quickly calculating the best route. If you plan to stay at 65,438+00 different places in road trip, ordinary computers may need to calculate the lengths of all possible routes separately, and then choose the best route. Quantum computer can calculate the length of all routes at the same time and screen out the best route at a faster speed.

The complex analysis of air traffic patterns by using quantum computer means that flight scheduling can be more efficient and travel time can be saved, because we can better avoid the bottleneck caused by airport aircraft taking off and landing. The same technology can also be applied to expressways and complex urban electric expressway networks to avoid congestion.

4. Military and national defense can be strengthened.

Johnson said that satellites continue to collect a large number of photos and videos. It is impossible for anyone to search and analyze so much data, so a lot of data is just thrown aside. In some discarded data, we may miss key information.

However, quantum computers can screen a large amount of data much faster than ordinary computers or humans, providing us with which photos or videos should be further analyzed and which can be ignored and discarded. Ordinary computers are not very good at "where is Waldo?" Such a recognition task, but like people, quantum computers are very good at finding specific details from chaotic backgrounds.

5. Secure encrypted communication

Whether we realize it or not, we have actually been using encryption technology. When we check email or shop online with credit cards, we all rely heavily on encryption technology. Encryption technology will become more secure by using strange quantum mechanical properties similar to quantum computers.

This super-secure communication is called "quantum key distribution", which allows someone to send information to others, and the information can only be read after being decrypted with quantum keys. If a third party intercepts the key, in view of the strange magic of quantum mechanics, this information will become useless and no one can read it again. The primary version of this communication technology has been used in some parts of Europe, but it still cannot be used on a large scale in the United States.

But the same principle of quantum computer can make communication more secure, and quantum computer can make it easier to crack the encrypted information we are currently using. According to the top secret NSA documents exposed by edward snowden, NSA also has plans to develop quantum computers. If hackers gain access to quantum computers, old-fashioned encrypted data such as banks and governments may face serious dangers.

6. Accelerate space exploration

Using the Kepler mission, astronomers have discovered nearly 2000 exoplanets outside the solar system. Kepler's mission also includes keeping a close eye on these planets and waiting for them to pass in front of the host star. At that time, these exoplanets will cast a shadow, and astronomers can analyze and predict the atmospheric conditions on these planets and whether they are suitable for life.

Quantum computers can process more data obtained by space telescopes and discover more exoplanets, which helps to quickly identify which planets are most likely to be suitable for life. Quantum computers can even find exoplanets that Kepler missed.

7. Machine learning and automation

This may sound creepy, but like humans, quantum computers can learn from experience. They can correct themselves. For example, a quantum computer can actually modify the program code with garbled code. This concept is called machine learning, which is similar to Facebook news stream and will change according to your "likes", but it is more complicated.

Machine learning of quantum computers can help us do many things faster and more efficiently. The continuous improvement of quantum computer functions may lead to the birth of advanced artificial intelligence such as semi-automatic vehicles. All these applications are exciting, but we still have a long way to go to achieve these goals. Many companies and institutions are developing quantum computers, including Google and NASA. When these big companies and institutions participate in similar cutting-edge technologies, we usually don't wait too long to see major breakthroughs.