If I Could Turn Back Time, I’d Use a Quantum Computer [Flash Forward Fridays]

Flash Forward Fridays

For the past few decades, technology has been evolving at a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it rate. In this biweekly column, Insights Staff Writer Kristin Manganello will be peeling back the curtain of the present and exploring the developing technologies that may soon become standard in the not-so-distant future.

Since humans first began to track and measure the daily procession of the earth’s orbit around the sun, the concept of time has commanded the thoughts of scientific, philosophical, and theological thinkers. Naturally, this fascination with time eventually manifested into an interest in time travel.

In more recent history, the possibilities and implications of time travel have captivated the attention of laymen and scientists alike – time travel has become a regular trope in science fiction films, TV shows, and even in songs. Beyond the cultural obsession with time, scientists are also keen on pursuing this lofty ambition.

Proof of Time Travel

While time as we understand it certainly serves a critical function in today’s society, recent research in the quantum computing field suggests that our everyday sense of time is purely a construct of convenience. The study, which is from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory and was published in Nature Journal, claims that the lab’s team has discovered proof of backward time travel.

Using IBM’s public quantum computer, the team developed an algorithm that changed “the arrow of time” by simulating a scattered subatomic particle being sent back in time for a brief moment. But how is this kind of experiment even possible?

A Stubbornly Persistent Illusion

Albert Einstein, one of the greatest and most famous scientists throughout history, is best known for his theory of relativity, which stipulates that space and time are not as fixed as we thought.

Upon the death of his close friend and collaborator Michele Besso, Einstein wrote a letter to Besso’s family, saying, “People like us, who believe in physics, know that the distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.”

Einstein’s theories of space-time completely revolutionized the study of physics and our understanding of how the universe can be navigated. Within these concepts, the idea of being able to travel back in time using quantum mechanics was somewhat possible, at least from a theoretical standpoint.

The Magic of Quantum Computing

A quantum computer is a super-fast machine that, instead of using the language of binary bits (aka, 1s and 0s) as a regular computer, uses what’s known as qubits. Qubits are defined by the unique properties of quantum entanglement and quantum superposition.

Quantum entanglement refers to the phenomenon of subatomic particles interacting with other particles and having an almost instantaneous effect on them. This entanglement principle is what makes quantum computing so wicked fast. Quantum superposition is the fundamental principle of quantum mechanics that postulates that subatomic particles exist in multiple quantum states simultaneously.

In a quantum computer, the qubits exist as both 1s and 0s at the same time. According to a 2001 article published in Science Magazine, science writer Richard F. Service explained that, because of this constant state of flux, when qubits are “plugged into a logical operation, the computer essentially computes all possible outcomes simultaneously.”

If that sounds crazy, it’s because it kind of is.

Quantum computers have only been developed in recent years, and are still in the prototype phase. Because of the fragile condition of entanglement and multiple modes of existence, qubits can quickly breakdown and fall into a process known as decoherence.

To maintain qubit functionality, the computers require a constant cool temperature close to absolute zero – and even when the ideal temperature is maintained, the qubits still don’t remain stabilized for long.

In spite of the challenges that quantum computers face, that doesn’t change the fact that quantum computers are seriously cool, and are being used for some insanely interesting experiments. Time travel is just one of the many adventures that it may take us on.