Quantum Computing for Everyone

Hardcover, 216 pages

Published March 19, 2019 by The MIT Press.

ISBN:: 978-0-262-03925-3

(1 review)

An accessible introduction to an exciting new area in computation, explaining such topics as qubits, entanglement, and quantum teleportation for the general reader.

Quantum computing is a beautiful fusion of quantum physics and computer science, incorporating some of the most stunning ideas from twentieth-century physics into an entirely new way of thinking about computation. In this book, Chris Bernhardt offers an introduction to quantum computing that is accessible to anyone who is comfortable with high school mathematics. He explains qubits, entanglement, quantum teleportation, quantum algorithms, and other quantum-related topics as clearly as possible for the general reader. Bernhardt, a mathematician himself, simplifies the mathematics as much as he can and provides elementary examples that illustrate both how the math works and what it means.

Bernhardt introduces the basic unit of quantum computing, the qubit, and explains how the qubit can be measured; discusses entanglement—which, he says, is easier to describe …

An accessible introduction to an exciting new area in computation, explaining such topics as qubits, entanglement, and quantum teleportation for the general reader.

Quantum computing is a beautiful fusion of quantum physics and computer science, incorporating some of the most stunning ideas from twentieth-century physics into an entirely new way of thinking about computation. In this book, Chris Bernhardt offers an introduction to quantum computing that is accessible to anyone who is comfortable with high school mathematics. He explains qubits, entanglement, quantum teleportation, quantum algorithms, and other quantum-related topics as clearly as possible for the general reader. Bernhardt, a mathematician himself, simplifies the mathematics as much as he can and provides elementary examples that illustrate both how the math works and what it means.

Bernhardt introduces the basic unit of quantum computing, the qubit, and explains how the qubit can be measured; discusses entanglement—which, he says, is easier to describe mathematically than verbally—and what it means when two qubits are entangled (citing Einstein's characterization of what happens when the measurement of one entangled qubit affects the second as “spooky action at a distance”); and introduces quantum cryptography. He recaps standard topics in classical computing—bits, gates, and logic—and describes Edward Fredkin's ingenious billiard ball computer. He defines quantum gates, considers the speed of quantum algorithms, and describes the building of quantum computers. By the end of the book, readers understand that quantum computing and classical computing are not two distinct disciplines, and that quantum computing is the fundamental form of computing. The basic unit of computation is the qubit, not the bit.

5 editions

Soh Kam Yung reviewed Quantum Computing for Everyone by Chris Bernhardt

A good, mathematical look at how quantum mechanics works.

4 stars

A fascinating book and a topic that may be easily misunderstood: the application of quantum mechanics to computing. The author does not shy away from the maths of linear algebra and matrix computations, but if you stick with it and work through or think about the maths, you'll get a better understanding of how quantum computing works, instead of getting a 'hand-wavy' non-mathematical view.

The book starts with the basics of quantum mechanics: how the act of measurement alters the properties of a quantum object like light (photons) or electrons. Next, linear algebra and matrix computations are introduced and it is probably best for the reader to work through or become familiar with this, or much of the rest of the book will be incomprehensible. Next, the mathematics are then used to show how measurements of quantum objects cause them to take on the measured states: this is the 'shut …

A fascinating book and a topic that may be easily misunderstood: the application of quantum mechanics to computing. The author does not shy away from the maths of linear algebra and matrix computations, but if you stick with it and work through or think about the maths, you'll get a better understanding of how quantum computing works, instead of getting a 'hand-wavy' non-mathematical view.

The book starts with the basics of quantum mechanics: how the act of measurement alters the properties of a quantum object like light (photons) or electrons. Next, linear algebra and matrix computations are introduced and it is probably best for the reader to work through or become familiar with this, or much of the rest of the book will be incomprehensible. Next, the mathematics are then used to show how measurements of quantum objects cause them to take on the measured states: this is the 'shut up and calculate' form of quantum mechanics, where not much is said about what quantum mechanics is, but only about what it does.

Using mathematics, the author then shows what happens when two particles are entangled and their states measured. He carefully shows how measuring the state of one entangled particle 'instantaneously' causes another particle to take another known state, and why this does not lead to 'faster than light' communication. He also shows the calculations on how Bell's Inequality shows that quantum entanglement is real and not a due to a 'hidden variables' form involving classical particles.

The author then switches topics to introduce logic gates, which leads to the topic of quantum gates. Again, mathematics is used to show how such quantum gates work. These quantum gates are then combined to produce quantum circuits which are then used to show how 'superdense coding' and quantum teleportation work.

Finally, the work culminates by looking at quantum algorithms and how they achieve 'better' results than classical algorithms. Finally, a brief look at how quantum computers could perform better than their classical counterparts is given.