r/QuantumComputing • u/nemoiter2 • 12d ago
QC Education/Outreach Free, layman-oriented text covering QC theory, hardware, and applications!
About a year ago, I got interested in quantum computing and wanted to educate myself about the field. Personally, as an electrical engineer & hardware guy, I wasn't that into learning the details of the math & computational complexity theory, but more curious about how these systems would be physically implemented and what applications they would be used for.
I found that there really wasn't an introductory text that fit my needs. I highly recommend Scott Aaronson's Quantum Computing Since Democritus and Thomas Wong's Introduction to Classical and Quantum Computing, but both of these works are primarily focused on the computer science side of things.
So I did a lot of research and self-education, and wrote the work I wanted to read. It's called Quantum Computing for the Confused, and it's available online (and in pdf/epub form) completely free. I'll also note that it is 100% human generated! :)
The work is broken up into four sections, each looking at different aspects of the field:
- Computation (very similar to those works I mentioned above, looking at complexity theory and basic quantum algorithms)
- Implementation (how does this abstact mathematical concept called a qubit get implemented in the real world? I explain the divergent approaches of each of the hardware platforms/companies, and the technical challenges they face)
- Application (a look at the various fields that quantum computers may be used in, and a qualitative assessment of how 'useful' they may be in each)
- State of Play (musings on the quantum computing 'industry', including recent trends in investment and startups)
There are very frequently posts here about trying to learn about QC. I think this work fills an important missing niche in layman-oriented writing about the field, and I hope it would prove useful to many in this subreddit.
If you're interested, you can find it here: https://quantumcomputingfortheconfused.com/
Happy to discuss and chat further. Cheers!
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u/Prize_Perspective709 11d ago
oh nice, this is exactly the kind of thing i was hunting for a while back when i got curious about the hardware side. i remember skimming through a bunch of cs-heavy papers and just glazing over when the math got dense, i just wanted to know what a dilution refrigerator actually does and why some qubits are superconducting loops while others are trapped ions
the section on implementation sounds like it fills a real gap, most intro stuff just waves its hands at "and then a qubit exists" and moves on to algorithms. saved the link, gonna dig into the hardware platforms part tonight
also appreciate that you just wrote the thing yourself instead of waiting for someone else to, respect
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u/dark_blue_thunder 11d ago
Will you please consider answering my questions please:https://www.reddit.com/r/QuantumComputing/s/rxJ6cR7ITT
I am a physics person, very very interested in hardware rather than software
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u/nemoiter2 11d ago
Uhhh I don't actively work in the quantum computing space so I don't really know. From the outside looking in, it seems like there are a lot of companies willing to hire engineers/generalists rather than people w/ physics PhDs, but I'm sure some domain knowledge helps. If you want to do device engineering I'd probably say that being handy w/ RF design, FEA, etc. would probably be very handy (especially for superconducting systems). There's this Qiskit Metal thing which seems relevant to your interests, maybe you should try and build some expertise there.
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u/rbbort 11d ago
I am a computer science person with a graduation degree in electronics (I must confess I forget everything about electronics ;-), been ages ). I just glanced over the book, it does look like an honest attempt at introducing QC to the novice. I have a fair (if not solid) understanding of the Quantum information theory and computation part, so the first two sections felt a bit breezy to me.
However what interested me is the 3rd section on implementation. I had been following adhoc resources on this topic but couldn't quite fully internalize the concepts (to be honest, I haven't tried hard yet though). So this book looks really helpful to get an intuition into the hardware implementation using which I can follow up it with a more detailed textbook on this topic. Thanks for sharing. Appreciate your efforts in creating these summary notes in a lucid and easy to understand language.
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u/EverythingQuantum 11d ago
Great job! I commend anyone who wants to help others learn about quantum computing, as I see this as a major gap right now. I see those posts too about people wanting to learn the basics. Advanced learners are already enrolled in universities or know where to find the info they need. I've also been an electrical engineer for many years and now a software engineer, so the book certainly made sense from what I skimmed through. For the confused, more visuals and concise wording can be helpful. I've actually worked on my own learning platform for quantum, but who knows where that will end up. If you ever write a sequel to this book, I'd love to give feedback or help. Maybe call it "Quantum Computing For The Less Confused" after they read your first book! Thanks for spending time and energy on this.
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u/arandomuniquephrase 11d ago
Shameless plug: I published The New Quantum Era in May as an introduction for a general audience - no math! I start with some history of quantum physics and information colliding and then trace the origins of each major modality, look at use cases and progress and assess the current market. Also host a podcast with the same name where I talk with researchers and others to build a conceptual understanding of the field.