‘Quantum computing’s trapped between hype and hope in science you get surprises and what’s useful may not be what we expect now’ – Times of India

Todays conventional computers may soon reach their limits. Moores law, which predicts that it takes about two years to double the power of computers, is expected to reach a dead end soon. Dealing with more complex problems ahead needs quantum computers, where individual atoms store and process information.Serge Haroche,a French physicist who won the Nobel Prize in 2012 for his work on manipulating individual quantum systems, discussed the subject withShimona Kanwarduring a recent visit to India.

August saw an agreement between India and France on cooperation in the fields of quantum computing. Where do you see this association headed?

I think laboratory scale classical computing is a matter of technology and one can see in what direction it is going.Quantum computing is still a question of basic science. So, you cannot predict if and when it will lead to practical applications. There is big progress in quantum computing, quantum communication and quantum meteorology using quantum devices. There are laboratories working on these in India and France.

One way to combat the quantum decoherence is supercooling, but its impractical for commercialisation. What kind of solution will emerge?

There are methods called quantum error correction to combat decoherence. This works on paper but not to the level of precision which is required to get a quantum computer. It means if you get a practical device, it will be very cold and not like a laptop which everybody can have at home. There are lot of challenges to scale up to a size which is useful. There is lot of hype in the field of quantum devices. Many private companies which are involved in this want to make profit. Quantum computing is trapped between hype and hope. A hope that one day it will lead to something useful. But as always in science you get surprises and what will be useful is may be not what we expect now.It is very rare in science where you have a path which leads you to a discovery that is predicted 20-30 years ahead of time. For the time being, quantum computing is basic science and not applied yet. Those who promise quantum computers are overselling, I think.

Why are researchers not motivated to pursue basic science?

I think basic science is background. You cannot have applied if there is no basic. Basic science requires a lot of time. Before it gives us application, it takes a very long time. For instance, the first idea of the laser wasgiven by Einstein in 1916 and the first laser came up in 1960. It took 44 years between the basic discovery and the invention. Sometimes it takes less time, but on an average 10-20 years. The big problem we have as scientists is to make sure that people will give us money and keep patience, and not ask for short term results. You need to build an atmosphere of trust and give time to basic science to develop.I think one of the problems is that there are not many positions in basic science. If you do not nourish basic science, you will not have good applied science.

Can we have Chinas model where there is huge investment in science?

China invests a huge amount and has made advances in science in the last 20 years. They have very good science institutes. They do good science in physics and biology. China has one problem and that is lack of freedom. I think science cannot be disconnected from humanities. A good scientist needs to have freedom of soul, freedom to choose his topic and to work with passion. A good scientist is driven by his/her own curiosity. I am sure if China gives more freedom to its researchers, it will be much more productive than it is now.

CERN (European Organisation for Nuclear Research) has been a successful example of science diplomacy. What advice would it give?

CERN is a very big project as it involves thousands of researchers from all over the world. This is necessary as it is a project in high energy physics and requires huge instruments like big accelerators which no single country can manage. However, my area of working is in small scale physics. As a policy, small-scale physics is very interesting as it brings PhD students hands on with physics and they are responsible for their own project.So, it is a very different way of training people. I think for a country like India, this small-scale physics is good becauseit allows it to develop science in different institutes.A big project like CERN or space agency projects are interesting for governments as it gives them bigger media attention. I think the work you do on smaller scale, even if it does not attract attention, is more fruitful.

DISCLAIMER : Views expressed above are the author's own.

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'Quantum computing's trapped between hype and hope in science you get surprises and what's useful may not be what we expect now' - Times of India