Quantum computing sounds pretty futuristic doesn’t it? It sounds like the pinnacle of technology, the most advanced stuff, somewhere on the bleeding edge of the tech world. What if I told you that was only partially true?
Yes, it is advanced and represents the next big step in computing. No doubt about that. Yet, it’s been getting actively worked on for well over twenty years. In fact, way back in 1996 Bell Labs was working on quantum-based methods for searching databases. Not only that, in 1998 a quantum computer that could implement the algorithm was successfully built. We’ve had functional, although not yet useful forms of this technology for quite a while. While it’s still near the edge, it’s hardly on the bleeding part of it anymore.
What does it matter though? Why have people been trying to build a functional quantum computer for so long? It has a lot to do with the nature of quantum mechanics. Don’t worry, we aren’t going deep into it here, partly because it would take too long and partly because I don’t know enough to go that deep. Suffice to say that particles on the quantum level operate in numerous different states at once. If that could be exploited, if we could take advantage of a quark’s ability to do two seemingly different and even contradictory things at once, it could dramatically increase the speed and storage capacity of our computers. That search algorithm from Bell Labs is just the tip of the iceberg. Currently, when a computer has to search through a database it starts at item one and moves on through in a linear fashion down to the last item. That takes time and energy. So perfecting an algorithm that can enable multiple search modes and paths to be done at the same time would be a game-changer.
Naturally, nothing goes smoothly. As the quest to build better and better quantum computers has continued, there have been certain roadblocks. Researchers needed to find new ways to put that algorithm into action. To help solve the problem, they turned to electrons.
Electrons are negatively charged particles that orbit the nucleus of an atom, and are the part that has the most to do with atoms bonding together. Roughly speaking, what they do is bounce around looking for defects in a material and fill the defect, or hole when they find it. This process initially looks very, very random. But, as with anything having to do with the quantum realm, looks can be pretty deceiving. Researchers studied the process more and realized that it looks a lot like the electrons are following Bell Labs search algorithm, just putting it into practice in a better way.
That’s the real irony here, not only has quantum computing been in existence since the 1990s, the solution to take it to the next level may actually lie in nature. It also looks like the same quantum search patterns are at work in DNA assembly and crystal growth. It’s possible that this algorithm that researchers stumbled onto over twenty years ago is in nature everywhere, much like the Fibonacci Sequence. By duplicating this natural process that is able to see the whole picture and deal with a massive amount of variables all at once it should be possible to take quantum computing out of the research lab and into the living room.
TARTLE is doing something similar with data. In connecting organizations with source data, we’re helping them to see the whole picture, the whole context behind the data they are collecting. It’s never just one or two things that lead to quantifiable choices but rather a whole system of variables that go into making one decision over another. It’s only by recognizing and trying to understand that can we really make the best and most productive uses of our data.
What’s your data worth?
