The quantum revolution: ‘Spooky action’
FT News Briefing
Forhecz Topher
4.4 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 25 March 2023
⏱️ 26 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode, Tech Tonic dives into the science at the heart of quantum computing. How do technologists use unexplained subatomic phenomena to build powerful computers?
FT artificial intelligence editor Madhumita Murgia tells the story of quantum physics with the help of Sean Carroll, a theoretical physicist at Johns Hopkins University and hears from University of New South Wales professor Michelle Simmons to understand how engineers exploit weird quantum physics.
Presented by Madhumita Murgia and John Thornhill, produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon and Edwin Lane. Executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The FT News Briefing is supported by Equinole, the UK's energy partner. |
| 0:06.3 | Learn more at equinole.co.uk |
| 0:10.3 | Hi, my name is Madhumita Mergia and I'm one of the presenters of Tech Tonic. |
| 0:15.6 | We're looking for some feedback from our listeners about the show. |
| 0:18.9 | So if you have a second, please fill out our brief listener survey which you can find |
| 0:23.6 | at ft.com slash Tech Tonic Survey. |
| 0:30.1 | In this season of Tech Tonic, we've been talking about quantum computers |
| 0:34.8 | and why some people think they're so revolutionary. |
| 0:38.6 | But so far we've mainly talked about the things quantum computers can do |
| 0:43.0 | or at least what they might be able to do in the future that makes them so groundbreaking. |
| 0:48.1 | Performing calculations that should take centuries in minutes, |
| 0:51.6 | cracking the unbreakable codes of the internet, |
| 0:54.2 | dramatically speeding up the development of new drugs and materials. |
| 0:58.3 | But what we haven't done yet is look at why they're able to do these things. |
| 1:03.2 | What's going on inside a quantum computer that makes them so extraordinary, |
| 1:08.9 | so completely different to any computer that's come before. |
| 1:13.3 | So in this episode, we're stepping inside the machine. |
| 1:18.8 | And this is where things get a little spooky, where our sense of reality gets kind of warped, |
| 1:25.8 | because stepping inside a quantum computer involves stepping into the strange world |
| 1:30.4 | of quantum physics. Quantum physics is what gives a quantum computer its power and its magic, |
| 1:37.0 | and quantum physics is really weird. |
| 1:42.4 | To explain that weirdness, I want to start with a letter written from one famous physicist to |
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