Quantum Computing Stack Exchange
Quantum Computing Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [applications]

For questions asking about applications of quantum computers to solve practical problems.

65 questions
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Is quantum computing just pie in the sky?

I have a computer science degree. I work in IT, and have done so for many years. In that period "classical" computers have advanced by leaps and bounds. I now have a terabyte disk drive in my bedroom drawer amongst my socks, my phone has phenomenal…
John Duffield
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What could be the possible future applications for HHL algorithm?

Note on the vocabulary: the word "hamiltonian" is used in this question to speak about hermitian matrices. The HHL algorithm seems to be an active subject of research in the field of quantum computing, mostly because it solve a very important…
Adrien Suau
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Are there any examples of anyone applying quantum algorithms to problems in computational biology?

As the title suggests, I'm searching for published examples of quantum algorithms being applied to problems in computational biology. Clearly the odds are high that practical examples don't exist (yet) – what I'm interested in is any proof of…
Greenstick
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What use has quantum computing been?

Most of us on this site believe that quantum computing will work. However, let's play devil's advocate. Imagine that we suddenly hit some fundamental stumbling block that prevented further development towards a universal quantum computer. Perhaps…
DaftWullie
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What kind of real-world problems (excluding cryptography) can be solved efficiently by a quantum algorithm?

This question is very similar as Is there any general statement about what kinds of problems can be solved more efficiently using a quantum computer? But the answers provided to that questions mainly looked at it from a theoretical/mathematical…
JanVdA
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Number of Qubits Required for Simulation of Caffeine and Penicillin Molecules

I recently read this report from BCG, which stated: For scientists trying to design a compound that will attach itself to, and modify, a target disease pathway, the critical first step is to determine the electronic structure of the molecule.…
Greenstick
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Does the quantum Fourier transform have many applications beyond period finding?

(This is a somewhat soft question.) The quantum Fourier transform is formally quite similar to the fast Fourier transform, but exponentially faster. The QFT is famously at the core of Shor's algorithm for period finding. It also comes up in a few…
tparker
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Are there any known or obvious practical applications for good solutions to the optimal polynomial intersection problem?

I learned from Aaronson's blog about a recent preprint by Jordan, Shutty, Wootters, (our very own) Zalcman, Schmidhuber, King, Isakov, and Babbush that provides an efficient quantum algorithm to give good solutions to what they call the "optimal…
Mark Spinelli
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Can quantum computing contribute to the development of artificial intelligence?

I am interested how quantum computing can contribute to the development of artificial intelligence, I did some searching, but could not find much. Does somebody have an idea (or speculations)?
jennifer ruurs
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Does quantum computing have an essential advantage in analyzing/controlling chaotic systems?

The enthusiast-level, inaccurate knowledge about quantum computers is that they can solve many exponentially solvable problems in polynomial time. The enthusiast-level, inaccurate knowledge about chaotic systems is that being highly sensitive to…
peterh
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Can quantum computing be profitable without quantum hardware?

What are the fields/business ideas that a new business can work on within quantum computing that can be profitable if this business has no access to onboard quantum setups but can access the cloud-based quantum computing platforms? What are the…
Tarek
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Are there any uses for Shor's algorithm other than breaking public key cryptography

This question may be slightly opinion based, so I apologise if this is the incorrect place to ask. My question is, is there any use for Shor's integer factorisation algorithm other than for breaking public key cryptography. If there isn't, then am I…
Adrien Amour
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Will quantum computers be able to solve the game of chess?

Will it be possible to use quantum computing to one day solve the game of chess? If so, any estimate as to how many qubits it would require? The game of checkers has already been solved through back in 2007 after years of number crunching. But they…
lkessler
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Can we use quantum phase estimation to learn anything about the dynamics of puzzles like the Rubik's cube?

Introduction Consider a state $\vert\psi\rangle$ such as below, which is in a superposition of a difference between a Rubik's cube in a solved state and a Rubik's cube in the "superflip" state. Here, with eight cells on each face (apart from the…
Mark Spinelli
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What is quantum computing vs. what is not quantum computing

That is to say, what are some common or popular misconceptions about what constitutes quantum computing? and how are those things misconceptions? It could help in explaining to frame this while imagining as if you were explaining for a…
PowerLuser
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