In this dialogue, the physicist Ignacio Cirac, director of the Theoretical Division of the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics, outlines why quantum physics has brought about a much greater change than that caused by Einstein’s theory of relativity, how quantum physics takes free will into account and how it combines with philosophy. He describes why quantum theory defines “everything else,” yet is unable to define itself. Explaining how, together with Peter Zoller, he developed and presented the first theoretical description of a quantum computing architecture based on trapped ions, and, how this quantum architecture will be viable and capable of performing calculations we cannot perform at present. Their quantum computer calculates in qubits, which would require at least 100,000 qubits to function, rising to 1,000,000 if error correction is implemented. It will be able to perform calculations previously unachievable and create encrypted messages impossible to decipher. Building a functional quantum computer still requires a huge technological change, which has yet to come about. Lastly, Cirac explains the differences between European and American visions of science and why mathematicians are even more conservative than physicists.
Quantum simulation of relativistic quantum physics with trapped ions