Quantum Supremacy

 

Michio Kaku, “Quantum Supremacy: How the Quantum Computer Revolution will change everything,”Doubleday, 2023, 300 pp.

The next great technological achievement—quantum computing—may eventually illuminate the deepest mysteries of science and solve some of humanity's biggest problems, like global warming, world hunger, and incurable disease.

The success of the microchip processor may be reaching its end. Running up against the physical constraints of smaller and smaller sizes, traditional silicon chips are not likely to prove useful in solving humanity’s greatest challenges, from climate change, to global starvation, to incurable diseases. But the quantum computer, which harnesses the power and complexity of the atomic realm, already promises to be every bit as revolutionary as the transistor and microchip once were. Its unprecedented gains in computing power herald advancements that could change every aspect of our daily lives. 

Automotive companies, medical researchers, and consulting firms are betting on quantum computing, hoping to exploit its power to design more efficient vehicles, create life-saving new drugs, and streamline industries to revolutionize the economy. But this is only the beginning. Quantum computers could allow us to finally create nuclear fusion reactors that create clean, renewable energy without radioactive waste or threats of meltdown. They could help us crack the biological processes that generate natural, cheap fertilizer and enable us to feed the world’s growing populations. And they could unravel the fiendishly difficult protein folding that lies at the heart of previously incurable diseases like Alzheimer’s, ALS, and Parkinson’s, helping us to live longer, healthier lives. There is not a single problem humanity faces that couldn’t be addressed by quantum computing.

My Notes:

Pg. 13:  Problems facing quantum computers start with the fact that atoms must be arranged precisely so that they vibrate in unison.  This is called coherence.  But atoms are incredibly small and sensitive objects.  The smallest impurity or disturbance from the outside world can cause this array of atoms to fall out of coherence, ruining the entire calculation.  This fragility is the main problem facing quantum computers.  In order to minimize contamination, scientists use special equipment to drop the temperature to near absolute zero, where unwanted vibrations are at a minimum. 

Pg. 14:  It is a mystery why Mother Nature uses quantum mechanics at room temperature without a problem.  For example, photosynthesis, one of the most important processes on earth, is a quantum process, yet it takes place at normal temperatures.  If we could one day figure out how Mother Nature performs her magic at room temperature, then we might become masters of the quantum and even life itself.

Pg. 20:  When it comes to understanding the body, the first giant step was the Human Genome Project, which listed all of the 3 billion base pairs and 20,000 genes that form a blueprint for the human body.  But digital computers are helpless when it comes to explaining precisely how DNA and proteins perform inside the body.  Quantum computers will lead the way into the next stage of understanding.

Pg. 116:  Photosynthesis: the deceptively simple process by which plants convert carbon dioxide, sunlight, and water into sugar and oxygen.

Pg. 142:  One undesirable feature of lithium-ion batteries is that they still have only 1 percent of the energy stored in gasoline.

Pg. 153:  Discovering new drugs by analyzing their molecular behavior can be a prime target for quantum computers.

Pg. 195:  Alzheimer’s is the sixth-leading cause of death in the US among those over the age of 65 and cases are steadily rising.  It is estimated that about half of people who survive into their eighties may eventually come down with this disease.   

Pg. 198:  ALS is yet another target for quantum computers.  It is a fatal illness that reduces your body to a paralyzed mass of tissue and afflicts at least 16,000 people in the US.  Your mind is intact, but your body wastes away.  This disease attacks your nervous system, disconnecting your brain, in some sense, from your muscles, and eventually leading to death usually from one to five years after diagnosis.

Pg. 199:  Parkinson’s afflicts about one million people in the US.  Typically it can cause one’s limbs to tremble uncontrollably, but there are other symptoms as well, such as difficulty walking, loss of smell, and sleep disturbances.  

Pg. 229:  The computer projections for the future of the earth’s climate are quite bleak.  Global sea levels have increased by eight inches since 1880.  (This is because the temperature of the oceans is increasing, which causes the total volume of ocean water to expand.).  Most likely it will rise one to eight feet by 2100. 

Pg. 260:  Already, the Kepler space telescope and other satellites and ground-based telescopes have detected about 5,000 exoplanets in our own Milky Way galaxy.  This means that, on average, every star we see at night has a planet going around it.  Perhaps roughly 20 percent of all exoplanets are earthlike, so our own galaxy may have billions of earthlike planets beyond those we’ve already identified.