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

Learning about quantum bits (qubits)

In this section, we will review the building blocks of a classic bit and a few of the operations that are performed on them via classic gates. We will then learn about the fundamental unit of a quantum computer, the quantum bit (qubit), and how it is similar to the bit, yet due to its quantum computational principles has a larger computational space than the bit.

Reviewing the classic bit

Before we delve into what a quantum bit is and how it is used, let's take a brief moment to refresh our memories on the classic bit. Just as the quantum bit is the fundamental building block of quantum algorithms, the bit has the same role in classic computational systems.

In computational systems, the bit is used to define a logical state, often referenced as either on or off, true or false, or, the most commonly used option, 1 or 0. The transition between states can be applied physically either after it's triggered by some operation such as...