Ask HN: What's a good intro to quantum computing?

1 pointsfr0styMatt210y ago3 comments

What's a good starting point for someone who has almost no understanding of quantum computing but a good understanding of classical computing?

When I read stuff about quantum computing, I kind of understand the words but really have no frame of reference to go off of :)

Some questions that always come to mind for me:

Is quantum computing going to be the 'next thing' that eventually replaces classical computing?

If a quantum computer can calculate all states of a problem at once, how do you know the right answer in amongst the infinite sea of wrong answers that you get?

How is a program actually written for a quantum computer?

Are there problems for which quantum computers are unsuited?

How do you actually 'run' a program, give it inputs and then get the outputs?

I'm really trying to get to at least some form of intuitive understanding of how a quantum computer would work. How would I, for example, boot one and ask it to find me the route from A to B on a map?

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jonjacky10y ago

Here is a nice short (19 page) introduction:

From Cbits to Qbits: Teaching computer scientists quantum mechanics by N. David Mermin

http://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0207118

The standard (very big) textbook is Nielsen and Chuang, Quantum Computing and Quantum Information. It answers all your questions and much more. Much of it is an advanced college physics textbook, but some of the chapters are quite accessible.

jonbaer10y ago

There used to be a few good examples on Dwave site through the dev portal they used to have, if you Google along + use archive.org you find some, here is an example ... http://archive.is/RE13f ... while it is black box it still gives you an idea of the python interface they exposed.

bkirkby10y ago

i did a presentation on quantum computing starting with a history of discovering quantum theory. it's a little over an hour. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Od08UbnFPI