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My paper will outline the current research in the area of quantum computing. Concepts such as the potential and power of quantum logic will play an important role in generally understanding how quantum computing works. In addition, the obstacles and research done toward quantum computing will also be discussed to show the efforts put out to find out more about the topic. The significance of quantum computing will be overviewed by the future outlook and the history, meaning the past and the future of the classical computer.

In quantum computing, the fundamental unit of information (called a quantum bit or qubit), is not binary but rather more quaternary in nature. Quantum computing relies on quantum physics by taking advantage of certain quantum physics properties of atoms or nuclei that allow them to work together as quantum bits, or qubits, to be the computer’s processor and memory. The basic principle of quantum computation is that the quantum properties of particles can be used to represent and structure data, and that quantum mechanisms can be devised and built to perform operations with these data. Even though quantum computing is still under research, experiments have been carried out in which quantum computational operations were executed on a very small number of qubits. Research in both theoretical and practical areas continues at a frantic pace, and many national government and military funding agencies support quantum computing research to develop quantum computers for both civilian and national security purposes, such as cryptanalysis. It is widely believed that if large-scale quantum computers can be built, they will be able to solve certain problems exponentially faster than any classical computer. Quantum computers are different from other computers such as DNA computers and traditional computers based on transistors, even though all transistors are ultimately based on quantum mechanical effects. Some computing architectures such as optical computers may use classical superposition of electromagnetic waves, but without some specifically quantum mechanical resource such as entanglement, they do not share the potential for computational speed-up of quantum computers. (Michael and Isaac Chuang From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). An old fashion computer has a memory made up of bits, where each bit holds either a one or a zero. The device computes by manipulating those bits, i.e. by transporting these bits from memory to (possibly a suite of) logic gates and back. A quantum computer maintains a vector of qubits. A qubit can hold a one, a zero, or, crucially, a superposition of these. A quantum computer operates by manipulating those qubits, i.e. by transporting these bits from memory to (possibly a suite of) quantum logic gates and back. Of the recent discoveries concerning quantum information, one of the most important and unexpected is that noisy quantum devices (if not too noisy) can reliably store and process suitably encoded quantum states. Orginally, complex quantum states like those that arise during intermediate stages of a quantum computation are extraordinarily fragile. But if a logical qubit is encoded, not as a single physical qubit, but instead in the form of entanglement among several physical qubits, it becomes far more robust. The new quantum error-correcting codes and fault-tolerant methods will be an essential part of any future effort to create, maintain, and manipulate intricate many-qubit quantum states. With on going technological improvements, quantum information processing of moderate complexity should soon be feasible in a variety of physical implementations. It is reasonable to hope that one such implementation will eventually enable a full-scale quantum computer, but not any time soon. The technology of quantum cryptography is more mature and much closer to commercial realization. We also anticipate that QIS research will have a substantial impact on other quantum technologies, such as nanoscale engineering and precision metrology. Irrespective of the long-term technological implications, new capabilities for quantum information processing will undoubtedly drive exciting new discoveries in basic science. It can also be foreseen that the emergence of quantum information science will have an extensive impact on science education. Quantum mechanics is usually taught at the undergraduate and graduate levels as part of the standard physics and chemistry curriculum, but the emphasis is more on applications than on developing a solid comprehension of the subject’s strange and seductive foundations. A course in quantum information science, by contrast, creates the opportunity and motivation for the student to confront the bare foundations without distractions. Students of physics, chemistry, mathematics, computer science, and engineering have the necessary background to benefit from such a course at an early undergraduate level. With appropriate modifications, it could even be given in high school, providing a valuable introduction to one of the great scientific ideas of the twentieth century, and a compelling illustration of the dictum that the universe is stranger and simpler than we can imagine. The potential of quantum information technology is starting to be recognized by commercial companies and the defense establishment. But for this potential to be properly fulfilled, stable long-term support aimed at foundational scientific issues will be sorely needed. In recognition of this need and the importance of the field, a major initiative in quantum information has been launched in Europe. In the US, the National Science Foundation can nurture the development of quantum information science far more effectively than more mission-oriented agencies, or profit-seeking companies. Future advances in quantum information science will require the combined effort of people with expertise in a wide variety of disciplines, including mathematics, computer science and information theory, theoretical and experimental physics, chemistry, materials science, and engineering. This profoundly interdisciplinary character is one of the most exhilarating aspects of the field. NSF can accelerate progress by encouraging collaboration and interaction among workers with widely disparate training and expertise. Furthermore, progress in quantum information can be sustained only by a substantial inflow of new talent, so it is also especially important to promote interdisciplinary education that will enable students to contribute effectively to this emerging scientific enterprise. (National Science Foundation)

In a traditional computer, information is encoded in a series of bits, and these bits are manipulated via Boolean logic gates arranged in succession to produce an end result. Similarly, a quantum computer manipulates qubits by executing a series of quantum gates, each a unitary transformation acting