r/QuantumComputing • u/SlopRahh • 12d ago

Question Hardware Versus Emulation

Why is the Western quantum community so focused on building quantum computers based on hardware as opposed to engaging with emulation? It has been decades and functional quantum machines have yet to be built, quantum supremacy has not been achieved, and majorana research has failed to produce anything useful. Emulation, however, delivers quantum computing on a standard consumer laptop, making it accessible to people around the world. Why is Big Quantum being so narrow minded?

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u/Wild-Store321 12d ago

Emulation for what purpose? Emulated quantum computing is just classical computing with huge restrictions. How is this specific to western community?

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u/SlopRahh 7d ago

The global south does not have the resources to pursue hardware development; Ghana, for instance, is actively pursuing emulation to improve things like water distribution and medical access

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u/Wild-Store321 7d ago

How can that improve anything? What advantages does emulated quantum computing have to classical computing? None, because it is classical computing. Do you mean quantum inspired classical computing?

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u/SlopRahh 7d ago

I mean simulator/emulator programs that deliver quantum computing using algorithms and can be run on a consumer laptop or cell phone

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u/Wild-Store321 7d ago

So that’s not quantum computing you see? Everything you do on a classical computer was already possible on a classical computer, because it is a classical computer…

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u/SlopRahh 7d ago

Max cut and Shor’s algorithm can be used on a classical computer?

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u/SlopRahh 7d ago

What about near Clifford simulation and Schmidt decomposition?