How to understand the amazing quantum technology that will change our lives?

It’s been almost 100 years since physicists Erwin Schrödinger and Werner Heisenberg shattered our understanding of the universe.

Instead of a world governed by certainty, where everything was defined and precise, the theory they developed described a diffuse and uncertain world.

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They stated that at the microscopic level, atoms behave in unpredictable ways.

Particles can exist in multiple places at once and pass through energy barriers like ghosts moving through solid walls.

Although initially it was seen as strange and disconcertingquantum mechanics is now universally accepted as the best description of the subatomic world.

And accepting its fuzziness has led us to a much better understanding of the building blocks of the universe.

Without this understanding, we would never have developed the silicon chip, the laser or the smartphone.

The development of quantum technology now has the potential to transform our lives even further.

Here and there at the same time

Observing a particle is like taking a photo of something in motion: you force it to stay still and assume a position.

To understand how, we have to understand two of the most counterintuitive, some might say crazy, ideas about the behavior of the quantum world: overlapping and intertwining.

Superposition describes the ability of particles such as electrons, photons or atoms to be in two places at once, or moving in two different directions at the same time.

At our everyday scale, objects exist in one defined state at a time.

However, in the microscopic quantum world, we cannot know what the state of a particle is until we observe it, but by observing it, we impose our everyday certainty on it, which makes its quantum state “collapse” in a single defined state.

Confused?

Inside the box, the cat is alive and dead simultaneously.

Perhaps a thought experiment devised by Schrödinger can clarify the concept.

Schrödinger wondered what would happen if a cat was locked in a box with a radioactive substance that would kill it if it released a particle.

But quantum mechanics tells us that we must describe the particle as if she had been released and not released at the same time.

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It exists in a quantum superposition.

Since the cat’s state is based on that quantum event that has happened and has not happened, it must be alive and dead simultaneously.

Only when we open the box to look do we force him to “choose” life or death.

The strange thing is that we know this to be true for atoms, but it never happens with real cats, even though cats are made of atoms.

A close bond

There are things that classical physics cannot explain, such as quantum entanglement.

The second mind-blowing behavior observed in this microscopic world is quantum entanglement.

Two or more particles come together in a way that classical physics cannot explain.

For example, take two separate but entangled particles -A and B-.

Each will be rotating both clockwise and counterclockwise at the same time, in a superposition.

But if you look at particle A, you force it to enter a single state, that is, you force it to rotate, for example, only clockwise.

That will cause particle B to spin in the opposite direction, and only in that direction.

The superposition of B will collapse when we observe A.

In principle, this occurs even if one of the particles is on Mars and the other is on Earth.

This phenomenon is so strange that it caused Albert Einstein to be rejectedwho described it as a “spooky action at a distance.”

Soon…

The goal of quantum technology is to make things biglike a computer processor, behave like a small quantum object.

The weird and wonderful concepts of entanglement and superposition are crucial in the development of new quantum technologies.

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Quantum computers solve complex problems at a vastly faster rate than the most powerful conventional computers.

Instead of using the classic binary system of bits -0 and 1-, quantum computers use qubitsthat is, quantum bits that can exist in a superposition of states 0 and 1 simultaneously.

Quantum computers can easily find the most efficient route through multiple destinations or analyze highly complex financial markets.

Scientists believe that the power of quantum computing could revolutionize many industries, help us address the climate change and even discover new pharmacological treatments.

Along with quantum computing, there is the possibility of developing quantum detection.

Is about incredibly delicate optical or magnetic sensors which can be used for a wide range of applications, from early warnings of earthquakes or volcanic eruptions, to brain imaging that could provide groundbreaking information to combat dementia.

Then we have quantum, or encrypted, communication, which will revolutionize computer security.

Right now, when we pay online, we know that current encryption methods make our data relatively safe.

But quantum computers will be able to easily override current systems.

Fortunately, we are also developing what is called quantum encryption, which uses the concepts of superposition and entanglement.

This will mean that when two people exchange messages, they can be sure that if someone tries “spy” on informationthe overlay will collapse, affecting exchanges and alerting them of any possible interception.

Quantum computing, quantum sensing and quantum encryption are already on the way: the quantum revolution has already begun.

So, even if we don’t know whether Schrödinger’s cat is alive or dead, or both, harnessing the wonderful and mysterious properties of the quantum world promises to power our future..

*Jim Al-Khalili is a theoretical physicist, Professor of Physics at the University of Surrey, in the United Kingdom. He is the host of The Life Scientific programme, on BBC Radio 4.

Source: Elcomercio