full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Hartmut Neven: Quantum computers aren't what you think — they're cooler

Unscramble the Blue Letters


In qnuuatm physics, the key mathematical ocejbt to describe many worlds is called superposition. To understand what it is, let's look at this simple system. You just need three bits to describe it. Each coin is a two-state system. hedas or tails, zero or one. We look at a start satte. If I were to know which forces act on the system, then I can predict its trajectory and future states. This is how we reason in classical physics and also in everyday life.

But if you were to treat this as a quantum syetsm, then it can branch into many configurations simultaneously. And we have to keep track of all those trajectories, interfere them to make an accurate pcodtieirn of what steats we are going to see in the future.

Open Cloze


In _______ physics, the key mathematical ______ to describe many worlds is called superposition. To understand what it is, let's look at this simple system. You just need three bits to describe it. Each coin is a two-state system. _____ or tails, zero or one. We look at a start _____. If I were to know which forces act on the system, then I can predict its trajectory and future states. This is how we reason in classical physics and also in everyday life.

But if you were to treat this as a quantum ______, then it can branch into many configurations simultaneously. And we have to keep track of all those trajectories, interfere them to make an accurate __________ of what ______ we are going to see in the future.

Solution


  1. system
  2. object
  3. heads
  4. prediction
  5. states
  6. quantum
  7. state

Original Text


In quantum physics, the key mathematical object to describe many worlds is called superposition. To understand what it is, let's look at this simple system. You just need three bits to describe it. Each coin is a two-state system. Heads or tails, zero or one. We look at a start state. If I were to know which forces act on the system, then I can predict its trajectory and future states. This is how we reason in classical physics and also in everyday life.

But if you were to treat this as a quantum system, then it can branch into many configurations simultaneously. And we have to keep track of all those trajectories, interfere them to make an accurate prediction of what states we are going to see in the future.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
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quantum computers 4
quantum computing 3
quantum ai 2
binary logic 2
quantum physics 2
time crystals 2
smart watch 2
physical qubits 2
error correction 2
error rate 2


Important Words


  1. accurate
  2. act
  3. bits
  4. branch
  5. called
  6. classical
  7. coin
  8. configurations
  9. describe
  10. everyday
  11. forces
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  14. interfere
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  16. life
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  22. quantum
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  24. simple
  25. simultaneously
  26. start
  27. state
  28. states
  29. superposition
  30. system
  31. tails
  32. track
  33. trajectories
  34. trajectory
  35. treat
  36. understand
  37. worlds