8 Scientific Breakthroughs That Will Change The World

6. Quantum Computing

As technology continues to get smaller, faster and more sophisticated at an exponential rate, experts began to wonder if there was a physical limit on how advanced computing could get. In "classical" computing, information is made up of a fundamental building block called a binary digit or "bit". These binary digits, as the name suggests, can have one of two values, zero or one, and the actual act of computing is the surprisingly mechanical process of switching transistors on and off. As technology advances, we're fast approaching the point at which we can no longer physically fit any more transistors onto a chip. A quantum bit, or "qubit", however, can exist in a state of superposition. This means that a single bit can have multiple values of zero, one and a superposition of both one and zero. The quantum world is something that most people, even some of the people who study it, can never hope to really understand. However, the potential of quantum computing could have dramatic implications for all of us. Due to the superpositioned qualities of a qubit, a quantum computer is much, much faster than a conventional silicon chip based one. It is capable of performing vastly complicated calculations at breathtaking speeds and can solve a puzzle that would take a normal computer around 30 minutes in less than half a second. This massive leap in processing power could enable us to develop everything from totally reliable self-driving cars to super advanced cancer detection systems. It would allow us to create amazingly sophisticated AI, as well as furthering our understanding of the universe with computers capable of analyzing vast amounts of data. Although the concept of quantum computing is brain-meltingly abstract, it could resolve a whole load of real world problems that are currently impossible due to simple lack of processing power.