Cloud Hosting

By Shrimansi Kaushik| Express News Service |Published: 11th April 2023 11:36 AMImage used for representational purposes only

HYDERABAD: Thinking of what will dominate the future of technology; scientists, academicians and entrepreneurs are increasingly looking at quantum mechanics. Quantum is being seen as the new-age paradigm of science, with the possibility of bringing a revolutionary change in how we perceive our physical world.To understand what possibilities quantum science brings, World Quantum Day is celebrated on April 14, a reference to the rounded digits of Plancks constant: 4.14 (4.1356676961015 eV.s), which essentially governs quantum physics.

Reiterating the amusing expression of Richard Feynman, I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics, particle physicist Dr Bindu Bambah says that it is undoubtedly an unusual expression from the mouth of a physicist.

Explaining the mechanism that helped develop some of the crucial technologies today and why it is so revolutionary (and unusual), Dr Bambah says, In particular, in the quantum world, there are particles that behave like waves and waves behaving like particles, with consciousness and observers who create reality play a crucial role. Regardless of the details, everyone seems to agree that the world-view depicted by quantum theory is radically different from the one emerging from classical physics, because of this, many have identified the transition from classical to quantum mechanics as a prototypical example of a paradigm shift, such that the rise of quantum mechanics amounted to a scientific revolution, as famously described by Thomas Kuhn.

This explains all the infamous, yet plausible sci-fi movies are not all wrong when their storylines depict merging timelines. Dr Bambah explains what exactly is a paradigm shift. The transition from classical to quantum mechanics is an example of a Kuhnian scientific revolution, in which there is a shift from the simple, intuitive, straightforward classical paradigm, to the quantum, convoluted, counterintuitive, amazing new quantum paradigm.

Essentially it means to encounter a new understanding of what we have known so far, owing to an obstacle or a hurdle, but the shift would come when this novelty is assimilated into the known such that it becomes expected. Not every new thing, though, brings a paradigm shift.

Quantum emerged when several attempts to use the laws of classical physics failed to explain the behaviour of matter on the atomic scale. Quantum physics includes both the ideas of dealing with smallest units as well as biggest leaps. Quantum mechanics is the part that deals with the smallest elements.

It results in what may appear to be some very strange conclusions about the physical world. At the scale of atoms and electrons, many of the equations of classical mechanics, which describe how things move at everyday sizes and speeds, cease to be useful. In classical mechanics, objects exist in a specific place at a specific time. However, in quantum mechanics, objects instead exist in a haze of probability; they have a certain chance of being at point A, another chance of being at point B and so on, says Dr Bambah.

In 1918, the German physicist Max Planck got the Nobel in Physics for his discovery of the quantised nature of energy. Einstein proposed that quantization is a fundamental property of light and other electromagnetic radiation. This led to the concept of photons and further discoveries led to the concept of photoelectrons.

Scientists continued to dabble over the mysterious nature of matter, deliberating whether it is a wave or a particle, until Werner Heisenberg, with his uncertainty principle, explained that It is physically impossible to measure, simultaneously, the exact position and the exact momentum of a particle. The inescapable uncertainties do not arise from imperfections in practical measuring instruments but rather the quantum structure of matter, says Dr Bambah.

She says that quantum mechanics has evolved further and many new paradigm shifts have arisen, including the production of particles out of energy, giving rise to quantum field theory. Other is quantum entanglement and quantum information and of course, quantum computers. Each is a scientific revolution and we look forward to many more, she says.

To harness these new developments, the Indian government introduced a whopping 8000 crore in its 2020 budget for investment in quantum technology, she added. Two marvels of quantum mechanical thinking are lasers and quantum computers. Lasers work on the quantum mechanical process of stimulated emission of radiation giving intense monochromatic radiation used in eye treatments. Quantum computers promise to revolutionise computing as they offer more versatility for encoding information. Rather than the two-state binary encoding used in classical computers, the quantum mechanical principle of superposition allows multiple-state encryption, increasing the power of computing, said Dr Bambah.

In Hyderabad itself, said Dr Bambah, departments at academic institutes such as the University of Hyderabad, IIT and IIIT have made some remarkable contributions to the field of quantum physics.Shedding light on what quantum technology has in store for entrepreneurs, Nikhil Malhotra, Global Head, Makers Lab, Tech Mahindra said, I truly believe that the opportunities in the field are vast and there is plenty of room for innovation and growth. At Tech Mahindra, we have always been at the forefront of technological innovation & advancement and we are working to develop a quantum ecosystem to accelerate the adoption and commercialization of quantum technology globally. With quantum computing, our market can expand from $300 billion to $800 Billion by 2040.

Here is the original post:

Lets take a quantum leap! - The New Indian Express