(Financial World) Major global economies compete to play "first move": Why is quantum technology important?
China News Service, Beijing, May 7th. Title: Major global economies compete to play "first move": Why is quantum technology important?
Author Liu Liang Zhang Ying
The world's first quantum science experimental satellite "Mozi", the world's first single-photon quantum computer...
In recent years, with the development of quantum technology in China, the mysterious concept of "quantum" has gradually entered the public eye.
At the same time, this frontier field, which symbolizes a new round of scientific and technological revolution, has also attracted many major global economies to compete in top-level design, strategic investment, and talent training.
So, what is quantum technology and why is it so important?
What are the potential applications of quantum technology?
What is quantum technology?
Quantum technology, as the name suggests, is the science and technology derived from quantum research.
From the perspective of the development history of modern physics, the concept of quantum can be traced back to the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century.
At that time, some European physics researchers believed that from Newtonian mechanics to thermodynamics and electromagnetic theory, the "Physics Building" of mankind had all been completed, and there was little room for research.
But with the German physicist Max Planck put forward quantum theory in 1900, classical physics ushered in a far-reaching revolution.
In the end, quantum theory and relativity theory together constitute the two pillars of modern physics.
According to quantum theory, quantum is the smallest and indivisible unit of energy. The study of quantum means the study of the law of motion of microscopic particles in the material world.
But what's interesting is that the state and position of the quantum can be described as unpredictable, and even a bit "against common sense". For example, the famous "Schrodinger's Cat" is a typical experiment.
For more than a hundred years, based on quantum theory, technologies such as nuclear energy, lasers, semiconductors, and chips have been developed, and major applications in human society such as computers, the Internet and mobile phones have been developed.
In recent years, new discoveries, new theories, and new technologies in the quantum field have sprung up, which indicates that the quantum field has entered a new wave of accelerated development.
Why is quantum technology so important?
In response to the rapid development of the quantum field in recent years, Guo Guangcan, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has emphasized that innovative applications in the three fields of quantum communication, quantum computing and quantum measurement will be the key in the future.
The industry view generally believes that quantum applications have significant advantages: quantum communication can theoretically achieve absolute confidentiality of communication; quantum computing can achieve exponential growth in calculations, and it can be cracked in a few seconds that traditional computers take tens of thousands of years to crack. Password; Quantum measurement can reach the atomic level, while the traditional measurement technology can only detect the micron level....
.
Driven by the prospect of new technologies, major economies in the world are racing to introduce quantum technology development strategies, which are regarded as the strategic commanding heights to seize all-round advantages in economic, military, and security fields.
In 2018, the United States passed the "National Quantum Project Act" to formulate a long-term development strategy for quantum technology, and spent US$1.275 billion on quantum information technology research. In the same year, the EU's 10-year Euro 1 billion "Quantum Flagship Program" was also officially launched.
Not to be outdone, Russia passed the national quantum technology development roadmap in 2019, with a total proposed budget of 51.1 billion rubles.
In addition, Japan, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Australia and other countries are also ambitious and have successively launched quantum technology development strategic plans.
Quantum technology enters "the eve of commercialization"?
At this moment, the "quantum concept" is in the "wind" of the times.
Judging from the current research progress, although quantum technology still has a long way to go before large-scale popularization, the relevant prospects are broad.
Taking quantum computing as an example, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) forecast, by 2027, the global quantum computing market will reach 10.7 billion U.S. dollars. Compared with 2017, it will increase by more than 40 times in 10 years.
The Boston Consulting Group predicts that by 2030, the potential of the quantum computing market will exceed $50 billion.
From the perspective of application prospects, quantum computing is expected to show its skills in the fields of research and development of new drugs, cracking codes, energy exploration, weather forecasting, financial analysis, and artificial intelligence.
In terms of quantum communication, the security of information systems will be greatly improved. At the same time, with the increase of quantum communication bandwidth and the deepening of network coverage, quantum Internet and applications based on transmission forms such as pictures, videos, and virtual reality (VR) will appear.
Quantum measurement can play an important role in topographic mapping, medical testing, sensors and other fields.
It is worth mentioning that the current research on quantum technology in China has occupied an important position in the global map.
Especially in quantum communications, China is basically at the international leading level.
However, it should also be noted that China Quantum Technology still has many shortcomings in supporting equipment and key core components.
In this regard, Chinese officials are also continuing to increase relevant investment and include quantum technology in the frontier technology field that will be the key layout in the "14th Five-Year Plan" and even longer periods.
It is foreseeable that as the drums of the "quantum plan" of major global economies are sounded one after another, with the help of the times, national policies, and capital, the large-scale application and promotion of quantum technology may be in the near future. (Finish)