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Quantum Computing’s Classical Problem, Classical Computing’s Quantum Problem

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Abstract

Tasked with the challenge to build better and better computers, quantum computing and classical computing face the same conundrum: the success of classical computing systems. Small quantum computing systems have been demonstrated, and intermediate-scale systems are on the horizon, capable of calculating numeric results or simulating physical systems far beyond what humans can do by hand. However, to be commercially viable, they must surpass what our wildly successful, highly advanced classical computers can already do. At the same time, those classical computers continue to advance, but those advances are now constrained by thermodynamics, and will soon be limited by the discrete nature of atomic matter and ultimately quantum effects. Technological advances benefit both quantum and classical machinery, altering the competitive landscape. Can we build quantum computing systems that out-compute classical systems capable of some \(10^{30}\) logic gates per month? This article will discuss the interplay in these competing and cooperating technological trends.

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Article Open access 05 August 2022

Roman Rietsche, Christian Dremel, … Jan-Marco Leimeister

Notes

  1. Some care must be taken in comparing the exact feature sizes, as memory and logic chips are sometimes described using different terminology varying by a factor of two or so, and the actual feature size on chip may differ from the fabrication process, due to factors in the lithography and etching.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Keio University, 5322 Endo Fujisawa, Tokyo, Kanagawa , 252-0882, Japan

    Rodney Van Meter

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  1. Rodney Van Meter
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Correspondence to Rodney Van Meter.

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This work was supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) through its “Funding Program for World-Leading Innovative R&D on Science and Technology (FIRST Program)”.

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Van Meter, R. Quantum Computing’s Classical Problem, Classical Computing’s Quantum Problem. Found Phys 44, 819–828 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10701-014-9807-z

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