- #1
joelio36
- 22
- 1
Hey, I'm learning about quantum computing for a project and I'm a bit stumped about a concept:
They say in quantum computing you can have the superpostion of all possible states, then perform an operation on that wavefunction, and thus have all possible states processed in one operation.
That sits fine with me, I get that, but what stumps me is how do you extract all that information without collapsing the wavefunction? Yes you have a superpostion of all the states you need, but as soon as you extract (read: observe) a state, don't all the others in the superpostion disappear?
By the way, I'm writing this to explain quantum computing to my peers, 3rd year Physics B.Sc students, so we aren't the brightest bunch!
Thanks
They say in quantum computing you can have the superpostion of all possible states, then perform an operation on that wavefunction, and thus have all possible states processed in one operation.
That sits fine with me, I get that, but what stumps me is how do you extract all that information without collapsing the wavefunction? Yes you have a superpostion of all the states you need, but as soon as you extract (read: observe) a state, don't all the others in the superpostion disappear?
By the way, I'm writing this to explain quantum computing to my peers, 3rd year Physics B.Sc students, so we aren't the brightest bunch!
Thanks