Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Introduction
- 1 Complex Numbers
- 2 Complex Vector Spaces
- 3 The Leap from Classical to Quantum
- 4 Basic Quantum Theory
- 5 Architecture
- 6 Algorithms
- 7 Programming Languages
- 8 Theoretical Computer Science
- 9 Cryptography
- 10 Information Theory
- 11 Hardware
- Appendix A Historical Bibliography of Quantum Computing
- Appendix B Answers to Selected Exercises
- Appendix C Quantum Computing Experiments with MATLAB
- Appendix D Keeping Abreast of Quantum News: Quantum Computing on the Web and in the Literature
- Appendix E Selected Topics for Student Presentations
- Bibliography
- Index
11 - Hardware
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Introduction
- 1 Complex Numbers
- 2 Complex Vector Spaces
- 3 The Leap from Classical to Quantum
- 4 Basic Quantum Theory
- 5 Architecture
- 6 Algorithms
- 7 Programming Languages
- 8 Theoretical Computer Science
- 9 Cryptography
- 10 Information Theory
- 11 Hardware
- Appendix A Historical Bibliography of Quantum Computing
- Appendix B Answers to Selected Exercises
- Appendix C Quantum Computing Experiments with MATLAB
- Appendix D Keeping Abreast of Quantum News: Quantum Computing on the Web and in the Literature
- Appendix E Selected Topics for Student Presentations
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
The machine does not isolate man from the great problems of nature, but plunges him more deeply into them.
Antoine de Saint Exupery, Wind, Sand, and StarsIn this chapter, we discuss a few hardware issues and proposals. Most certainly you have wondered (perhaps more than once!) whether all we have presented up to now is nothing more than elegant speculation, with no practical impact for the real world.
To bring things down to earth, we must address a very basic question: do we actually know how to build a quantum computer?
It turns out that the implementation of quantum computing machines represents a formidable challenge to the communities of engineers and applied physicists. However, there is some hope in sight: quite recently, some simple quantum devices consisting of a few qubits have been successfully built and tested. Considering the amount of resources that have been poured into this endeavor from different quarters (academia, private sector, and the military), it would not be entirely surprising if noticeable progress were made in the near future.
In Section 11.1 we spell out the hurdles that stand in the way, chiefly related to the quantum phenomenon known as decoherence. We also enumerate the wish list of desirable features for a quantum device. Sections 11.2 and 11.3 are devoted to describing two of the major proposals around: the ion trap and optical quantum computers.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Quantum Computing for Computer Scientists , pp. 305 - 318Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2008