Potential benefits

According to AT&T Labs official website (2011), the interconnection between quantum physics and computing did for computing "what the assembly line did for manufacturing," showing that the computation efficiency has increased dramatically, and this achievement helped the overall progress in both fields. The main reason why quantum computers are more efficient than ordinary computers is that a bit represents only one possibility (0 or 1) while a qubit "can represent an array of possibilities that can be calculated simultaneously, while taking probabilities into account" (AT&T Labs, 2011). To expand on this, according to Quantiki article about quantum computation (2010), the qubit can actually be in both states (1 and 0); therefore, when calculations are done, "a system with n qubits can perform 2n calculations at once,"which exponentially increases the number of calculations done. According to Gary Taubes ScienceWatch interview with Ignacio Cirac (2009), one of the most important researchers in the field, the theories developed in the field of quantum computing "can be applied in other fields of physics, specifically in condensed matter physics," showing not so obvious benefits of developing quantum computers. According to Bronsor and Strickland (2011), the quantum computers can be used to encrypt and decode secret information, search for large databases quickly and study quantum mechanics. Shiller (2009) also includes quantum communication systems that "allow a sender and receiver to agree on a code without ever meeting in person" and creation of artificial intelligence using quantum computers as possible applications of quantum computers (p. 22).