聽力課堂TED音頻欄目主要包括TED演講的音頻MP3及中英雙語文稿,供各位英語愛好者學習使用。本文主要內(nèi)容為演講MP3+雙語文稿:量子計算的初學者指南,希望你會喜歡!
【演講者及介紹】Shohini Ghose
肖希尼·戈斯,量子物理學家,她探索了原子和光子的奇異量子世界,以理解宇宙的基本定律,并利用它們進行量子計算和通信——并致力于讓科學對所有性別和背景的人都具有可及性和包容性。
【演講主題】量子計算的初學者指南
【中英文字幕】
翻譯者 Wanna Shi 校對者 LipengChen
00:12
Let's play a game. Imagine that you are inLas Vegas, in a casino, and you decide to play a game on one of the casino'scomputers, just like you might play solitaire or chess. The computer can makemoves in the game, just like a human player. This is a coin game. It startswith a coin showing heads, and the computer will play first. It can choose toflip the coin or not, but you don't get to see the outcome. Next, it's yourturn. You can also choose to flip the coin or not, and your move will not berevealed to your opponent, the computer. Finally, the computer plays again, andcan flip the coin or not, and after these three rounds, the coin is revealed,and if it is heads, the computer wins, if it's tails, you win.
我們來玩?zhèn)€游戲。假設你現(xiàn)在在拉斯維加斯的一個賭場里,而且你決定要在賭場內(nèi)的某臺電腦上玩游戲,你可能會玩紙牌或者象棋。電腦能像真人玩家一樣,在游戲中出牌或走棋。
01:06
So it's a pretty simple game, and ifeverybody plays honestly, and the coin is fair, then you have a 50 percentchance of winning this game. And to confirm that, I asked my students to playthis game on our computers, and after many, many tries, their winning rateended up being 50 percent, or close to 50 percent, as expected. Sounds like aboring game, right?
這是一個硬幣游戲。首先,一個硬幣正面朝上,電腦會先開始玩。電腦可以選擇把硬幣翻過來或者不翻,但是你看不到結果。接下來就輪到你了。你也可以選擇把硬幣翻過來或者不翻,而你的選擇不會被透露給你的對手(電腦)。接下來,又輪到電腦做選擇:把硬幣翻過來或者不翻。三輪過后,硬幣的朝向會被揭曉。如果正面朝上,那電腦就贏了;如果反面朝上,那你就贏了。
01:30
But what if you could play this game on aquantum computer? Now, Las Vegas casinos do not have quantum computers, as faras I know, but IBM has built a wong quantum computer. Here it is.
這是一個非常簡單的游戲,如果每個人都老實參與游戲,而且硬幣也是質(zhì)地均勻的,那你贏得這場游戲的概率是50%。為了確認這一點,我讓我的學生在我們的電腦上玩了這個游戲。嘗試了很多很多次之后,他們的獲勝率恰巧為50% 或者接近50%,意料之中。
01:44
But what is a quantum computer? Well,quantum physics describes the behavior of atoms and fundamental particles, likeelectrons and photons. So a quantum computer operates by controlling thebehavior of these particles, but in a way that is completely different from ourregular computers. So a quantum computer is not just a more powerful version ofour current computers, just like a light bulb is not a more powerful candle.You cannot build a light bulb by building better and better candles. A lightbulb is a different technology, based on deeper scientific understanding.Similarly, a quantum computer is a new kind of device, based on the science ofquantum physics, and just like a light bulb transformed society, quantumcomputers have the potential to impact so many aspects of our lives, includingour security needs, our health care and even the internet.
這個游戲聽起來有些無聊,是吧?但是,如果你能在量子計算機上玩這個游戲,那會怎樣呢?目前,據(jù)我所知,拉斯維加斯的賭場并沒有量子計算機,不過IBM已經(jīng)制造了一臺可以正常運行的量子計算機。就是這臺。什么是量子計算機呢?量子力學研究 原子和基本粒子,如電子、光子的 運動規(guī)律。量子計算機通過 控制這些粒子的運動 來實現(xiàn)運行,但其運行方式 與普通電腦截然不同。量子計算機可不只是 現(xiàn)有電腦的加強版,就像電燈泡不是 蠟燭的加強版一樣。即使你不斷地改良蠟燭,也做不出電燈泡。電燈泡需要完全不同的技術,基于更深層次的科學認識。同樣,量子計算機是一種基于量子力學的全新設備; 就像電燈泡帶來了社會變革,量子計算機也很可能 會影響人類生活的方方面面,如安全需求、衛(wèi)生保健、 甚至是互聯(lián)網(wǎng)。
02:42
So companies all around the world arewong to build these devices, and to see what the excitement is all about,let's play our game on a quantum computer. So I can log into IBM's quantumcomputer from right here, which means I can play the game remotely, and so canyou. To make this happen, you may remember getting an email ahead of time, fromTED, asking you whether you would choose to flip the coin or not, if you playedthe game. Well, actually, we asked you to choose between a circle or a square.You didn't know it, but your choice of circle meant "flip the coin,"and your choice of square was "don't flip." We received 372responses. Thank you. That means we can play 372 games against the quantumcomputer using your choices. And it's a pretty fast game to play, so I can showyou the results right here.
因此,全球數(shù)家公司正在研發(fā)量子計算機,量子計算機究竟為何讓我們?nèi)绱思??我們在量子計算機上玩?zhèn)€游戲看看。我可以就地登入 IBM的量子計算機,也就是說,我可以遠程玩游戲,你也可以。首先,要記得提前從TED獲得一個郵箱,你參與游戲的話,郵箱信息會問你是否要翻轉(zhuǎn)硬幣。實際上,我們會問你要選圓圈還是方塊。你事先并不知道,不過你選圓圈就是要把硬幣翻面,你選方塊就是不翻面。我們收到了372條回復。在此要謝謝大家的參與。這意味著我們可以用你們的選擇跟量子計算機玩372把游戲。這個游戲很快就能結束,我現(xiàn)在就可以給你們看結果。
03:40
Unfortunately, you didn't do very well.
不幸的是,你們運氣不太好。
03:42
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
03:44
The quantum computer won almost every game.It lost a few only because of operational errors in the computer.
量子計算機在每輪游戲中基本都會贏。只輸了幾把,而這是計算機自身的操作錯誤造成的。
03:51
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
03:53
So how did it achieve this amazing winningstreak? It seems like magic or cheating, but actually, it's just quantumphysics in action. Here's how it works. A regular computer simulates heads ortails of a coin as a bit, a zero or a one, or a current flipping on and offinside your computer chip. A quantum computer is completely different. Aquantum bit has a more fluid, nonbinary identity. It can exist in asuperposition, or a combination of zero and one, with some probability of beingzero and some probability of being one. In other words, its identity is on aspectrum. For example, it could have a 70 percent chance of being zero and a 30percent chance of being one or 80-20 or 60-40. The possibilities are endless.The key idea here is that we have to give up on precise values of zero and oneand allow for some uncertainty. So during the game, the quantum computercreates this fluid combination of heads and tails, zero and one, so that nomatter what the player does, flip or no flip, the superposition remains intact.It's kind of like stirring a mixture of two fluids. Whether or not you stir,the fluids remain in a mixture, but in its final move, the quantum computer canunmix the zero and one, perfectly recovering heads so that you lose every time.
那么,量子計算機怎么能夠如此驚人的接連獲勝呢?看起來像是魔術或作弊一樣,但實際上,這是因為量子力學在發(fā)揮作用。操作如下:普通計算機用比特模仿硬幣的正面或反面,即0或者1,或是用電腦芯片內(nèi)的電流供斷來模仿。量子計算機則全然不同。量子比特更易變,具有非二進制特性,能以0和1疊加,或者說組合的形式存在,有可能為0,有可能為1。換句話說,其特性處于一個范圍內(nèi)。比如說,它有70%的可能性是0,和30%的可能性是1,也可能是八二分或六四分,,有無窮的可能性。關鍵是我們需要放棄絕對的0和1,接受一些不確定性。所以在玩游戲時,量子計算機創(chuàng)造了正面和反面,即0和1的易變組合。所以不論玩家怎么選,將硬幣翻面與否,疊加均不受影響。就像是攪拌兩種液體的混合物。不論你攪拌與否,兩種液體仍在混合物中,但是在最后一步,量子計算機可以把混合的0和1分開,讓硬幣正面朝上,所以你每次都贏不了。
05:32
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
05:34
If you think this is all a bit weird, youare absolutely right. Regular coins do not exist in combinations of heads andtails. We do not experience this fluid quantum reality in our everyday lives.So if you are confused by quantum, don't worry, you're getting it.
如果你覺得這很奇怪,那就對了。普通硬幣并沒有兩面同時朝上這種狀態(tài)。我們在日常生活中也從未經(jīng)歷過這種不確定的量子實際狀態(tài)。所以如果你對量子感到困惑,不用擔心,你終究會明白的。
05:53
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
05:56
But even though we don't experience quantumstrangeness, we can see its very real effects in action. You've seen the datafor yourself. The quantum computer won because it harnessed superposition anduncertainty, and these quantum properties are powerful, not just to win coingames, but also to build future quantum technologies. So let me give you threeexamples of potential applications that could change our lives.
不過即便我們沒有見識過量子的奇特之處,我們還是能看到其實實在在的影響。你們也親眼看到游戲結果了。量子計算機贏了,因為量子計算機利用了疊加和不確定性,而這些量子特性非常強大。不僅僅能在硬幣游戲中獲勝,也能創(chuàng)造未來的量子技術。量子技術的潛在應用能夠改變我們的生活,我來舉三個例子。
06:27
First of all, quantum uncertainty could beused to create private keys for encrypting messages sent from one location toanother so that hackers could not secretly copy the key perfectly, because ofquantum uncertainty. They would have to break the laws of quantum physics tohack the key. So this kind of unbreakable encryption is already being tested bybanks and other institutions worldwide. Today, we use more than 17 billionconnected devices globally. Just imagine the impact quantum encryption couldhave in the future.
|首先,量子不確定性 可以用來創(chuàng)造私鑰,將從一個地方發(fā)到 另一個地方的信息加密,這樣黑客就不能偷偷 完全復制這個私鑰了,就是因為量子具有不確定性。要想獲得私鑰,黑客得先打破量子力學法則。目前全球銀行和其他機構已經(jīng)在測試這種無法破解的加密方法了。當前,全球的聯(lián)網(wǎng)設備多達170億臺。大家可以試想一下量子加密在未來的影響力會有多大。
07:08
Secondly, quantum technologies could alsotransform health care and medicine. For example, the design and analysis ofmolecules for drug development is a challenging problem today, and that'sbecause exactly describing and calculating all of the quantum properties of allthe atoms in the molecule is a computationally difficult task, even for oursupercomputers. But a quantum computer could do better, because it operatesusing the same quantum properties as the molecule it's trying to simulate. Sofuture large-scale quantum simulations for drug development could perhaps leadto treatments for diseases like Alzheimer's, which affects thousands of lives.
其次,量子技術也能改變醫(yī)療保健和醫(yī)藥行業(yè)。比如,在藥物研發(fā)過程中設計和分析分子 迄今仍是一個極具挑戰(zhàn)的難題,因為要準確描述和計算 分子中所有原子的 所有量子特性,從計算角度而言是一個極難的任務,對于我們的超級計算機而言也不例外。但是量子計算機更勝一籌,因為量子計算機運行時運用了與其試圖模擬的分子相同的量子特性。所以在未來的藥物研發(fā)中,大規(guī)模量子模擬或許有助于治療 影響成千上萬人的疾病,如阿爾茲海默癥。
07:54
And thirdly, my favorite quantumapplication is teleportation of information from one location to anotherwithout physically transmitting the information. Sounds like sci-fi, but it ispossible, because these fluid identities of the quantum particles can getentangled across space and time in such a way that when you change somethingabout one particle, it can impact the other, and that creates a channel forteleportation. It's already been demonstrated in research labs and could bepart of a future quantum internet. We don't have such a network as yet, but myteam is wong on these possibilities, by simulating a quantum network on aquantum computer. So we have designed and implemented some interesting newprotocols such as teleportation among different users in the network andefficient data transmission and even secure voting.
第三,我個人最喜歡的量子應用是量子瞬移,即將信息從一個地點傳送到另一個地點,而不需要實際的傳播途徑。聽起來就像科幻小說,但這是可能實現(xiàn)的,因為這些量子粒子的易變特性能跨越時空發(fā)生糾纏,這樣你更改一個粒子的某些東西時,也會影響另一個粒子,這就創(chuàng)造出了量子瞬移通道。研究實驗室已經(jīng)就此進行了證實,這將構成未來量子網(wǎng)絡的一部分。我們現(xiàn)在還沒有這樣的網(wǎng)絡,不過我的團隊正在為了這些可能性而努力,在量子計算機上模擬量子網(wǎng)絡。我們設計實施了一些有趣的新網(wǎng)絡協(xié)議,如不同網(wǎng)絡用戶間的量子瞬移和高效數(shù)據(jù)傳輸,甚至還包括安全投票。
08:56
So it's a lot of fun for me, being aquantum physicist. I highly recommend it.
當一名量子物理學家,我覺得很好玩,也極力推薦大家跟隨我的腳步。
09:00
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
09:02
We get to be explorers in a quantumwonderland. Who knows what applications we will discover next. We must treadcarefully and responsibly as we build our quantum future. And for me,personally, I don't see quantum physics as a tool just to build quantum computers.I see quantum computers as a way for us to probe the mysteries of nature andreveal more about this hidden world outside of our experiences. How amazingthat we humans, with our relatively limited access to the universe, can stillsee far beyond our horizons just using our imagination and our ingenuity. Andthe universe rewards us by showing us how incredibly interesting and surprisingit is.
|讓我們一同探索神奇的量子世界。誰知道接下來我們又會 發(fā)現(xiàn)什么樣的應用呢? 打造量子未來時,我們務必要謹慎負責。就我個人而言,我并不只把量子力學當做是制造量子計算機的工具,而是將使用量子計算機視作探索自然奧秘、揭示未知世界的方法。人類是多么的偉大,雖然我們了解浩瀚宇宙的渠道有限,但是憑我們的想象力與創(chuàng)造力,我們能夠不斷拓寬視野。而浩瀚的宇宙會也會回報我們,向我們展示它有趣又驚艷的一面。
09:49
The future is fundamentally uncertain, andto me, that is certainly exciting.
|從根本上來說,未來具有不確定性; 對我來說,這著實激動人心。
09:56
Thank you.
謝謝大家。
09:57
(Applause)
(掌聲)