What is a quantum simulator?

In case you haven’t heard already, quantum computing is going to take over the world.

…In a good way, of course. 

Using qubits, or quantum bits, rather than classical bits as a method of computation holds immense promise in a slew of areas, ranging from fields like computational biology to cryptocurrency. The fact that quantum computing has the capacity to solve some of the world’s biggest problems or possess processing power exponentially faster than its classical counterpart seems almost too good to be true... and in a sense, it is. One of the only practical downsides to quantum computing is that building those prodigious quantum computers costs a lot of money (not to mention, it’s bad for the environment). 

This is where quantum simulators come into the picture. They’re sort of classical, sure, but they get the job done for now.

A quantum simulator is just what it sounds like: it takes the quantum properties of classical particles, and uses them in a “quantum” way to solve problems. Using a special property called superposition, quantum simulators are able to take normal particles and program them to simulate a quantum system, so that we can observe and interact with it as we please. In this way, qubits are not actually necessary to perform complex calculations quickly, and the use of classical equipment and bits is permitted. It’s like the best of both worlds. 

~Srimaye Peddinti