IBM Q - developing a quantum computer running through the cloud

IBM has long been studying the possibility of creating quantum computers that could be used in science and business. If earlier it was only a matter of purely scientific research, now this project has already passed into the implementation stage. The company's specialists have announced their intention to create a commercial quantum computer, which you can work with in the cloud. This computer is called IBM Q. Third-party developers will be able to connect to a quantum computer using a special API, which opens up the possibility of creating interfaces between a 5-qubit quantum system and ordinary computers. In addition, IBM has created a simulator that simulates configurations up to 20 qubit.



As for the cloud through which the connection to IBM Q will be made, this is the IBM Cloud platform. Developers with access to the IBM Quantum Experience will be able to run algorithms, conduct various studies, and work with individual quantum bits. For users of the system, examples of working with IBM Q will be provided. By the way, now the number of users of the IBM Quantum Experience platform is 40 thousand.





Due to the versatility, IBM Quantum Experience can solve a number of tasks much more efficiently than ordinary computers, albeit super-productive, can do. These are mainly tasks of the following nature:

• Fast processing of huge databases;
• Optimization of processes, the nature of which is close to the so-called traveling salesman problem ;
• Analysis and processing of scientific data with the identification of certain patterns;
• Decomposition of numbers into prime factors using the Shor algorithm.

If quantum systems start working with such operations, it will be necessary to forget about cryptography in its modern form.

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In the course of working on the creation of a quantum computer, IBM is trying to increase the figure, which is called "quantum volume". It reflects the power of a new type of computer. Quantum volume describes both the number and the connectivity of qubits, plus the quality and the so-called parallelism of quantum computations.



A 5-qubit system is good, but in the next five years, IBM is going to increase IBM Q performance by expanding the system to 50 qubits. As part of this project, the corporation plans to work with other companies to develop applications that rely on quantum acceleration.



That is a quantum computer and why it is needed, on Habré and Hiktimes already wrote. The fact is that despite the high performance of modern computers, this is no longer enough, and the possibility of increasing the performance of traditional PCs is limited. Quantum systems have a significant advantage over such computers in many areas.





For example, a quantum computer can be used to simulate the quantum states of chemical molecules. This will allow, for example, pharmacists to quickly create new effective drugs, simulating complex molecular and chemical reactions. Simulation on a quantum computer can help develop high-temperature superconductors that preserve the state of superconductivity at room temperature. If such materials are found, then in power industry and other areas a real revolution can be made.



Nuclear physicists, astronomers, meteorologists and many other representatives of various branches of science will also be able to work with a quantum computer. Specialists working on the creation of artificial intelligence, will be able to perform work more efficiently using quantum systems. Quantum computing will also be useful for business, for example, for developing complex supply schemes, modeling financial data and other areas of work.



In general, quantum computing will be able to become the next impetus, which will allow science and technology to step far ahead, passing the next stage of evolution.