Quantum Mechanics in Quantum Computing
M. Dean Johnson · Cardinal Scholar (Ball State University) · 2003
Mathematics (Option 1) with a minor in Physics. In his sophomore year, he participated in the studentfaculty colloquium, where he explored quantum computing with several other students and faculty. Quantum mechanics is a scientific theory that seeks to describe atomic and subatomic particles (or quantum particles) as well as the interaction among them. Such particles include electrons, protons, neutrons, and photons. In classical mechanics, a particle’s future state is described with certainty once its present state is known. At any given moment, its momentum and position are determined with certainty. In quantum mechanics, its future state is described probabilistically. Instead of a single momentum, a particle can assume a simultaneous range of momenta, and instead of a single position, it can take a simultaneous range of positions. Since the product of these ranges is no less than a specific positive universal constant, a decrease in the range of its position forces an increase in the range of momentum and vice versa. It