What is quantum computing?
Quick answer
Quantum computing uses quantum bits, which can hold combinations of states, to attack a narrow class of problems that conventional computers find impractically slow.
Senior students run small circuits on a simulator and compare them against classical approaches to the same problem.
In context
It will not replace ordinary computing. Its value lies in specific problems such as simulation, optimisation and cryptography.
For senior students it is an excellent stretch topic because it forces careful thinking about what a computation actually is.
In a NASCA classroom
Senior students run small circuits on a simulator and compare them against classical approaches to the same problem.
Related terms
Cyber security
Cyber security is the practice of protecting systems, devices and data from unauthorised access, covering both technical controls and the human habits that defeat them.
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is software that learns patterns from data and uses them to make predictions or generate new content, instead of following rules a person wrote by hand.
Data science
Data science is the practice of turning raw data into decisions, through cleaning, analysis, visualisation and a clear account of what the numbers do and do not support.