The quantum computer has fascinated both scientists and the general public for years, but is it really possible to build such a device? And if so, what impact would a quantum computer have on our daily lives? Thanks to breakthroughs in the last few years, notably also from the Netherlands, it is now well understood which crucial steps are still needed to actually build a quantum computer. The next five to 10 years should show whether and how we can take those steps. Quantum computers work on fundamentally different principles from all existing computers. They compute with quantum bits that can simultaneously be 0 and 1, and that can be entangled with each other even over large distances. Because of its special quantum properties, a quantum computer can crack complicated problems from mathematics, physics, chemistry and materials science. But how does this translate to our daily lives? Will such a computer impressively accelerate innovation? Will the internet still be secure if a quantum computer exists, or could it actually become much more secure? Quantum technology was named one of the four National Icons by the government in 2014.
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Being able to control quantum behaviour on a large scale poses a formidable scientific and technological challenge. Fundamental research is needed to understand quantum bits, for instance to find effective protection against decoherence, the loss of entanglement due to external influences. What is the ideal building block for the quantum bit: a light particle, an electron, the Majorana particle? How can entangled bits be separated and exploited in faster-than-light communication over a quantum internet? To answer these questions, new materials, chip structures and software and mathematical algorithms are needed, among other things. The eventual use of the future quantum computer raises a wide range of questions. We also need to think in advance about social and economic opportunities of this technology. New research fields such as bio-quantum computing will be able to emerge, which could greatly accelerate, for example, drug development.
