QUANTUM 101
transfers, and so on. While traditional computers cannot crack RSA encryption on any timescale relevant to security consider- ations, quantum computers would render it useless. As a result of Shor’s insight, the Army and intelligence community immedi- ately started investing in quantum computing research.
Te United States has held a leading position in the development of quantum information science and associated technologies for many years. Te Army, recognizing the importance of the field to the future fight, has even boosted its baseline investments since 2015 to explore capabilities in ultra-secure communications and networks and dramatically to improve precision sensing and timekeeping.
Te United States, however, isn’t alone. Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Singa- pore, Russia, North Korea and Japan have all invested heavily in research into quantum information science. China established a $10 billion national laboratory primarily targeting pre-eminence in quantum communications and successfully launched a quan- tum satellite in 2016. After the satellite program’s success, China began building a nationwide quantum network for impenetrable military communications and financial transactions.
Te House Science Committee recently announced plans for a 10-year National Quantum Initiative to increase America’s strate- gic focus on quantum information science. Tis effort will provide a greater degree of coordination between agencies, essential for successful capability development. Such a large initiative will depend on multiple investments and partnerships in academia, DOD labs and industry.
It’s important to understand the basic principles of quantum mechanics essential for information applications, as well as how quantum information science can enhance or establish certain technologies for the Army, including quantum cryptography and communication, quantum metrology (measurement) and sens- ing, and quantum computation and simulation.
THE BASICS FOR QUANTUM COMPUTING Tree of the most important concepts to understand in quan- tum mechanics are superposition, matter-wave duality and entanglement.
Superposition is the counterintuitive ability of a quantum entity, such as an electron, to be in two states, “0” and “1”, simulta- neously, such as the lowest energy level of an atom and its first excited state. However, the atomic state is only defined when it is measured: Until we “look” at the atom, it is in both states at once, with probabilities that can be manipulated with quantum operations. Such “quantum bits,” or qubits, are therefore unlike classical bits, which are in one state, either 0 or 1, whether we measure them or not. Quantum superposition is also at the heart of how the world’s most exquisite atomic clocks and magnetom- eters function.
Matter-wave duality – Light is often thought of as composed of discrete photons—particles—but simultaneously behaves like a wave, exhibiting interference like water waves. Remarkably, a particle with mass (atoms, etc.) can also interfere with its own path or movement, just like waves can. Tis nonintuitive prop- erty has led to “matter wave interferometers” for rotation sensing that could potentially outperform the best laser-based gyroscopes. (Gyroscopes can provide a reference for how an object is oriented in space, among other things, and airplanes and spacecraft use them to help maintain stability and to navigate.)
A VERY DIFFERENT KIND OF COMPUTING
Complex quantum computers of the kind depicted in this concep- tual rendering are decades away, but quantum clocks and other applications of the knowledge that quantum mechanics has discov- ered could be in wide use much sooner. (Graphic by Getty Images)
Entanglement – Two or more qubits can further demonstrate differences from classical bits: Tey can be entangled such that a measurement on one instantaneously determines the outcome of the other. Such nonclassical correlations persist even over long distances, seeming to enable information transfer faster
82
Army AL&T Magazine
October-December 2018
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144
