What is Quantum Computing?
T he field of quantum computing was initiated by the work of Paul Benioff and Yuri Manin in 1980, Richard Feynman in 1982, and David Deutsch in 1985.The typical computer uses a series of zeros and ones to communicate information. While today's computers are quite powerful, they still have considerable limitations that make it difficult to process challenging machine-learning problems. In quantum computing, a qubit (short for quantum bit) is a unit of quantum information—similar to a classical bit. Where classical bits hold a single binary value such as a 0 or 1, a qubit can hold both values at the same time in what's known as a superposition state. When multiple qubits act coherently, they can process multiple options simultaneously. This allows them to process information in a fraction of the time it would take even the fastest nonquantum systems. We can ready for the quantum era by becoming a quantum develop...