Book Image

Learn Quantum Computing with Python and IBM Quantum Experience

By : Robert Loredo
Book Image

Learn Quantum Computing with Python and IBM Quantum Experience

By: Robert Loredo

Overview of this book

IBM Quantum Experience is a platform that enables developers to learn the basics of quantum computing by allowing them to run experiments on a quantum computing simulator and a real quantum computer. This book will explain the basic principles of quantum mechanics, the principles involved in quantum computing, and the implementation of quantum algorithms and experiments on IBM's quantum processors. You will start working with simple programs that illustrate quantum computing principles and slowly work your way up to more complex programs and algorithms that leverage quantum computing. As you build on your knowledge, you’ll understand the functionality of IBM Quantum Experience and the various resources it offers. Furthermore, you’ll not only learn the differences between the various quantum computers but also the various simulators available. Later, you’ll explore the basics of quantum computing, quantum volume, and a few basic algorithms, all while optimally using the resources available on IBM Quantum Experience. By the end of this book, you'll learn how to build quantum programs on your own and have gained practical quantum computing skills that you can apply to your business.
Table of Contents (21 chapters)
1
Section 1: Tour of the IBM Quantum Experience (QX)
5
Section 2: Basics of Quantum Computing
9
Section 3: Algorithms, Noise, and Other Strange Things in Quantum World
18
Assessments
Appendix A: Resources

Understanding superposition

Superposition is something we generally can't see with the naked eye. This is typically the case when discussing the superposition of an electron. Since an electron is very small and there are so many of them, it is hard to distinguish one with even a powerful microscope. There are, however, some analogies in the classical world that we can use to illustrate what superposition is. For example, a spinning coin is what most texts use to describe superposition. While it is spinning, we can say that it is in the state of both heads and tails. It isn't until the coin collapses that we see what the final state of the coin is.

In this chapter, we're going to use this spinning coin analogy just to help you understand the general principle of superposition. However, once we start working on our quantum circuits, you will see some of the differences between superposition and its probabilistic behavior in the classical world versus its behavior in...