Quantum Computers Explained – Limits of Human Technology

BEFORE LISTENING

1. What are quantum computers?

2. What is a qubit?
3. Which is the difference between a classical computer and a quantum computer?

WHILE LISTENING

I. Answer the following questions:

1. What does a usual computer do?

2. What is a transistor?
3. What do many transistors combined create?
4. Which is a typical scale for transistors nowadays?
5. Which is the smallest unit of information in normal computers?
6.What is superposition?
7. What is entanglement?
8. Which are the areas in which quantum computers are vastly superior to home computers?

II. Fill in the blanks:

Qubit Manipulation is a mind 1) ………… as well. A normal 2) ………… gate gets a simple sets of
inputs and produces one definite 3) …………. A quantum gate manipulates an input of 4) …………, rotates
5) ………… and produces another superposition as its output. So, a quantum computer sets up some 6)
…………, applies quantum gates to 7) ………… them and manipulate probabilities, then finally measures
the 8) …………, collapsing superpositions to an actual sequence of 0s and 1s. What this means is that you
get the entire lot of 9) ………… that are possible with your 10) …………, all done at the same time.