Over the years, Computing has evolved to process all kinds of actions more and more efficiently and quicklyA process that would have taken several hours 30 years ago now takes only a few seconds thanks to those advances in parallel computing.
Of course, such advances continue today, and one of these advances is presented through what is known as “quantum computing”, That is, a new paradigm that attempts to overcome the current limitations of classical computing. However, this type of computing is still exotic, in a very early stage of development, expensive, and inaccessible to many, were it not for the fact that it can be offered as a the service de computing quantum en la cloud.
What is quantum computing?
Quantum computing is a paradigm based on the principles of quantum mechanics, which uses qubitsThe quantum computer uses the quantum bit, the unit of information, instead of traditional bits. This allows operations to be performed much faster than on current classical computers.
To understand the difference, imagine a coin:
- Bit (Classical Computing)It's like a coin toss. It can only be in one state at a time: heads (0) or tails (1).
- Qubit (Quantum Computing)It's like that same coin, but while it's spinning on the table. In that state, it's neither heads nor tails definitively; it's a mixture of both possibilities at the same time.
And thanks to this, we have an almost "magical" computing capacity, taking advantage of two properties of nature:
- OverlapAs I mentioned, a qubit can represent a 0 and a 1 simultaneously. This allows the computer to perform many calculations at once, instead of one by one.
- InterlacingIt's a "mysterious" connection where two qubits are linked. What happens to one affects the other instantly, regardless of distance. This allows qubits to work together on a massive scale.
Currently, quantum computers have to be at temperatures close to absolute zero, about -273ºC, to take advantage of these phenomena, which makes them expensive and cumbersome.
Will it replace classic computers?
However, a quantum computer is terrible for everyday tasks like writing a document, browsing social media, or watching a movie. For those tasks, classical computers are better suited. That's why many experts don't call it a quantum computer, but rather a quantum accelerator, since it largely relies on classical computers. a client-server relationshipIn this case, the conventional computer would be the client and it asks the quantum server to perform a workload, obtaining the result.
It cannot function alone; rather, the quantum is a specialized coprocessor, like a kind of advanced accelerator card. The classic computer handles the task by providing the instructions and controlling the environment, and finally reads the results obtained.
For example, imagine you have to perform a mathematical operation like a function f(x) to find out if the result for x=0 and x=1 is the same:
- On a classic computer, it is executed sequentially: first, f(0) is calculated and the result is stored; then f(1) is processed and the result is stored. Finally, the results are compared to give the answer.
- In quantum computing, a Deutsch algorithm could be used, taking advantage of superposition, by preparing a qubit in a superposition state so that it is both 0 and 1 simultaneously. This qubit is passed through the mathematical function only once, and an interference is performed to determine the result.
The current Frontier supercomputer has a computing power of 1.2 ExaFLOPS, representing a capacity to perform 1.200.000.000.000.000.000 floating-point operations per second. When compared to quantum computers like Sycamore or Jiuzhang, which have approximately 53 to 70 qubits, the results are staggering. If you run the random circuit sampling challenge—a mathematical problem to calculate the output probabilities of a logic circuit—it would take 10.000 years to solve on Frontier, while it would be solved in about 200 seconds on a quantum computer.
Benefits of quantum cloud computing in technological research
La Calculation speed is naturally one of the most important advantages which has applications in scientific calculations and simulations used for research. However, despite its effectiveness, the high cost of the hardware required for its application means that not everyone can access it, and that is where cloud computing comes into play.
La quantum computing in the cloud, or cloud computing, or QaaS (Quantum as a Service) It seeks to solve this problem by "democratizing" access to this advanced level of processing by allowing companies and researchers to run complex algorithms, molecular simulations, and optimizations without the need to own expensive hardware, simply by subscribing to this resource as a cloud service.
That is, the quantum cloud:
- It eliminates access barriers by not requiring a physical infrastructure.
- It can solve complex problems (such as molecular simulation or cryptography) much faster than classical computers.
- It allows a connection with traditional cloud environments to achieve a seamless hybrid workflow.
And all this with much more affordable, and increasingly numerous, services, to give researchers an extremely powerful tool, enabling them to obtain results that were previously impossible.