August 12, 2024
Common Myths About Quantum
Katanya Kuntz
I’ve been a participating member of the quantum community since the early 2000s. First as a student, and now as a trained experimental quantum physicist. And the number one question I get asked is “What IS Quantum?!” Sometimes it’s easier to start by defining what Quantum is not… Here are some common myths about quantum I’ve encountered.
Myth: Quantum computing is AI
Quantum computing is not AI! AI (artificial intelligence) is a more sophisticated form of classical computing that teaches the machine how to learn like a human mind. It’s in the field of machine learning where the system has the ability to reason, discover meaning, generalize, or learn from past experience. If you have interacted with ChatGPT, then you have interacted with AI.
Quantum Computing is based on using a physical process or system that is quantum (i.e. atoms/ions, photons, superconducting circuits, etc.) to do the calculations. These quantum bits (qubits) have quantum properties, like being able to exist in a superposition of two states at the same time.
On the other hand, your classical computer encodes binary information as voltage levels. For example, a low voltage (0V to 0.3V) is assigned a ‘0’ and a high voltage (0.7V to 1V) is a ‘1’. A range is used instead of an exact value because sometimes there are small variations in the voltage levels. But the bits can only exist in a state of 0 or 1… If the bit value is ever in between 0 and 1 (i.e. 0.5V), it’s counted as an error. A classical computer doesn’t know what to do with a bit that isn’t 0 or 1.
Whereas a qubit can exist in a superposition state of 0 and 1 because this is something that happens naturally in the quantum world. We can harness this property to encode information and perform calculations that are not possible with a classical computer, like Shor’s algorithm.
Myth: Quantum entanglement can be used for faster than light communication
Quantum entanglement does not mean information can be transferred faster than the speed of light. Entanglement is a special property that exists in the quantum realm. It’s a type of correlation that links two particles (or two particles of light called photons) together such that a measurement performed on one also affects its partner, no matter how far they are apart. Experiments so far involving quantum satellites have shown this effect to be instantaneous over even 1200 km, with entangled particles appearing to communicate faster than the speed of light, which has always been thought to be the fastest speed in the universe.
Well it turns out that there is a speed limit on the information highway, and quantum entanglement is allowed to break it because no useful information is being transferred. For example, in Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), you also need classical communication between the two parties, which travels at the speed of light, to establish the encryption key. The measurement result from the collapsed entangled state is only part of the information you need to make your key.
Myth: Quantum Computing means the end of all current forms of encryption
The invention of a Quantum Computer does not mean the end to all current forms of encryption. Only that certain forms of encryption are potentially vulnerable to quantum computer attacks, such as those widely used to secure data on the internet (i.e. RSA and ECC). These encryption methods are based on factorizing large numbers, which is hard for a classical computer but fairly easy for a quantum computer, thanks to Shor’s algorithm.
The reason I say ‘potentially vulnerable’ to attack is because we don’t really know what a quantum computer is capable of until we have a fully functioning one, which does not currently exist. There are currently for sale quantum systems that are capable of running specific types of quantum algorithms. So we are not far away from the full version capable of universal quantum computing.
Shor’s algorithm was conceived in 1994, well before we had any quantum computing systems. So we’ve known about this problem for a while, and the encryption community has been working on solutions. One possible solution is to create new encryption algorithms that are hard for quantum computers to hack.
Quantum computers aren’t better than classical computers at everything… There are some operations that are harder for a quantum computer than a classical one. We can design math problems that should be hard for both classical and quantum computers to solve. This is called Post Quantum Cryptography (PQC) and does not need quantum systems to operate; PQC runs on classical computers. However, the only truly 100% theoretically secure form of encryption is QKD.
Myth: Quantum is a future problem; I don’t need to worry about it now. Someone else will figure it out for me.
Quantum is not a future problem anymore, it’s a now problem. This has been demonstrated by governments around the world announcing their Quantum Readiness plans to start preparing their nations for the quantum revolution. One of the first steps is quantum education. Someone else won’t figure it out for you; don’t get caught behind the curve and left vulnerable to quantum attacks.
The need for better encryption now is also evident by the increasing number of cyber attacks being carried out using classical computers. They don’t even need a quantum computer! Some recent targets include MGM Resorts (USA), Suncor Energy / Petro-Canada, Canada Border Service Agency, theme parks in Mexico, a state-owned health insurance company in the Philippines, universities in Belgium and New Zealand, and several hospitals/healthcare providers including the North Mississippi Health Services (USA). Healthcare data is some of the most valuable data and needs the highest level of protection, both in transmission and during storage.
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Myth: Quantum physics has no practical use right now
The Quantum 1.0 Revolution
The benefits that quantum physics has brought to society to date spans areas from electronics to healthcare to even the transportation sector. Lasers, LEDs (light emitting diodes), hard disks, mobile phones, and even the basic building block of classical computers (the transistor) are some of the most common examples of quantum physics devices operating in our daily lives. These are examples of quantum 1.0 technology.
Quantum 1.0 Medical Technology
Various medical scans we use every day use quantum physics to examine our bodies, such as an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), which uses the magnetic moments of the protons in the water molecules inside your body to detect diseased tissue. X-ray exams use a part of the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum to image inside your body. The visible light we see (from red to purple) is also part of the EM spectrum, as are radio waves, microwaves and higher energy EM radiation like gamma rays.
Antimatter and Gamma Rays!
Did you know that some medical exams even use antimatter?! Gamma rays and antimatter may sound like science fiction, but it’s not! There really does exist something called antimatter in our universe, which has all the same properties as regular matter (i.e. the stuff you are made out of) but with some of their quantum properties `flipped,’ like electric charge. For example, the antimatter particle of the electron is called the positron, and it has the same mass and quantum spin as an electron but opposite electric charge… hence the name!
When matter and antimatter collide, they annihilate and create pure energy (gamma rays). PET (positron emission tomography) can detect the metabolism within the body tissue/organ being examined. This is accomplished by first administering a radionuclide appropriate to the organ/tissue we want to image. Positrons are emitted as the radionuclide breaks down inside the body. The positrons instantly collide with nearby electrons to produce annihilation photons. The PET scanner registers these photon events and reconstructs an image of the organ/tissue.
These are all examples of quantum 1.0 technology because they deal with large samples of matter or energy (light), whereas quantum 2.0 tech uses individual particles of light (called photons) or atoms to do the sensing.
Quantum 2.0 Technology – Quantum Sensing
There are several new quantum sensing diagnostic tools that have applications in various sectors, including in the medical community, and are commercially available now. For example, Nitrogen Vacancy (NV) Centres in diamonds can be used as very precise magnetometers (sensing magnetic fields). Companies like SBQuantum in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada are developing these devices that can be used in a variety of applications, such as mining prospecting, navigation, mapping Earth’s magnetic field, and detecting submarines/hidden targets using magnetic sensing to name a few.
Nitrogen Vacancy (NV) Centres consist of a pair of adjacent defects in the diamond lattice: a nitrogen atom substituting for a carbon together with a vacancy (a missing atom). This image illustrates the atomic structure and how each NV Centre is composed of a nuclear spin and an electron spin. The ‘spin’ of a subatomic particle (i.e. electrons, protons, nuclei) is its total angular momentum and is analogous to a physically spinning particle. The introduction of the nitrogen atom in the carbon lattice frees up a single pair of electrons, and we can use the pair’s spin state to precisely measure magnetic fields at that location.
https://physics.aps.org/articles/v4/78
These quantum sensors work by first exciting the electron pair with a green laser, putting it in an “excited state” (i.e. higher energy). While in this excited state, the spin state of the electron pair interacts with the environment’s magnetic field. But everything in the universe wants to be in its most stable state (i.e. usually the lowest energy). So after this interaction with the magnetic field, the spin state will “flip” to its lower energy configuration, resulting in the electron pair emitting some red light. The amount of red light tells us about the magnetic field at that location, allowing a more precise 3D mapping to locate and classify hidden objects.
NV Centres can also be used as medical sensors to detect changes in the magnetic properties of cancer cells, determine molecular structures, and to conduct in vivo magnetic activity in animals. It’s even possible to create a portable MRI based on these quantum sensors!
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