Hidden In Plain Sight 10: How To Program A Quantum Computer

by Andrew H. Thomas

If you have ever wondered how a quantum computer works - or if you want to know how to program a quantum computer yourself - then this is the book for you.

This book contains an introduction to quantum mechanics, with complete instructions and videos showing you how to program a real quantum computer, provided by IBM.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction

188 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2018

About the author

Dr. Andrew H. Thomas studied physics in the James Clerk Maxwell Building in Edinburgh University, and received his doctorate from Swansea University in 1992.

Reviews

[John J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Capsule Summary of Quantum Computing

Dr. Thomas takes us on an intriguing journey into the quantum realm in this latest installment of the Hidden in Plain Sight series. The first several chapters are an introduction to quantum mechanics, covering the concept of a quantum state in two-dimensional Hilbert space, the evolution of the quantum state over time, and the action of an operator on a quantum state to reveal a particular eigenstate (i.e., the act of measurement).

Following this rather brief review, Dr. Thomas compares Boolian logic, which forms the basis of ordinary, classical computers using bits (0 or 1), with quantum logic using qubits, which can exist in a state superposition (0 and 1). It turns out that Boolian operations are irreversible; in particular, the input bits of a universal NAND gate cannot be determined from the output bit. The ireversibility of Boolian logic results in a loss of certainty, which can be equated to an increase in entropy in the forward direction, whereas the evolution of a quantum state must be time-reversible (no increase in entropy in the forward direction), restricting the kinds of logic gates that can be used in a quantum computer. Only those gates where the input states can be uniquely determined from the output states can be implemented, such as the CCNOT gate, making quantum algorithms seem somewhat clumsy compared to their Boolian counterparts. It became clear, however, that this is only a minor disadvantage compared to the huge advantage quantum computation provides in terms of massive parallel processing power, which can increase exponentially with the number of qubits that are employed.

The Kindle version of the book provides links to videos prepared by Dr. Thomas, which illustrate how to set up simple quantum algorithms using IBM's on-line 5-qubit computer simulator. These videos provide valuable demonstrations about using this amazing hands-on tool.

I've gained a lot more understanding about quantum computing from this book than any other sources. I must say that the final chapter covering the implementation of Grover's algorithm may prove to be hard to grasp -- it was for me at least-- but otherwise the book is quite suitable for a general audience. I have one small criticism: there are Kindle formatting errors involving exponential expressions like 2^N and 2^64 shown as 2N and 264. This seems to be a common bug when converting text documents into ePub type format.

I highly recommend buying this book. It is quite concise and can be absorbed in a couple of sittings; nevertheless, Dr. Thomas provides all the information necessary to gain a basic understanding of how quantum computers work and an appreciation of their potential power. All this is provided in clear, everyday language. Five stars.

[Barry Cunningham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fairly simpleminded

Despite the title.
This book does a few things well. It provides an introduction to the literature so that one can get into the subject further. It also provides some hands-on examples on the IBM Q-experience website, along with some supporting videos.
Unfortunately, it also does some things very poorly. The intended audience has not been well thought out. Several explanations, especially those involving complex dimensions and complex projective space, have been so dumbed down that even though I had the mathematical background and familiarity with the concepts I found it hard to identify what was being talked about. I can’t imagine someone without a strong math background being able to make any sense out of them. The second major problem is that the hands-on material will be outdated fairly quickly. The user interface on the Q-experience website has changed enough since the book was written just over a year ago that the illustrations and videos are noticeably different from what one sees today. I expect the pace of change on the IBM website to be fairly rapid.

[John A. Hopkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting read. It breaks down some of the 'basic' quantum mechanics into manageable chunks so you can at least have a conceptually understanding, which is helpful when it comes to understanding Quantum Computing. In fact, most of the book is taken up with this explanation - it is only really in Chapter 8 (of 10) that you get into quantum computing. Thomas covers superposition, Schrodingers equation, complex numbers, entanglement and a bit on the vectors that would be useful if you have no knowledge at all (which is what this book is designed to do to be fair). However, I found the last few chapters a bit of a disappointment - they really don't teach you how to program a quantum computer. What they do allow you to do is copy an existing program and use the IBM Quantum simulator to run a quantum simulation.
So, despite the shortfall (IMO) at the end, still recommended as a way to get into the basics of quantum computing.

[Nathan Hanzel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Right off the bat, I have to give Thomas a lot of credit for attempting to tackle such a complicated topic in so few words. However, if I’m reviewing this book based off of the goals Thomas set out for himself by writing this book, it only gets three stars.

Thomas does a good job of explaining the foundations of quantum theory like superposition, Schrödinger s Equation, decoherence, etc. but fails to connect these ideas in a clear and understandable way when trying to bridge the gap from the theoretical to the practical programming side. Thomas seems to gloss over some of the details as to why quantum gates differ from regular Boolean gates, and completely leaves the reader stranded at sea when trying to walk through Grover’s Algorithm, even with the added appendixes.

Additionally, quantum entanglement felt like an afterthought in this book, with only a few pages dedicated to what feels like a critical piece of the puzzle.

[Kursad Albayraktaroglu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fascinating book from the highly informative "Hidden in Plain Sight" series. The author provides a concise and highly readable introduction to quantum mechanics and underlying principles of quantum computing. I have been reading on the subject for a few years now, and can honestly say this was the best introductory description of current implementation techniques of qubits (basic building blocks of quantum computers).

The second half of the book is dedicated to a somewhat simplified introduction to various types of quantum gates and an implementation of Grover's algorithm on the IBM Q Experience (a basic quantum computer made available to the public by IBM). I completed the exercise and found it to be very interesting. Highly recommended to any technically inclined reader who would like to understand quantum computing.

[Antony Mcphee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best explanation of quantum computing I've come across.

Through all the hype I always wondered how it would be possible to get a quantum computer to compute a singular answer considering quantum is all about probabilities. This books explains that it's not possible!

It describes how Quantum computers only provide a probability that an answer is correct, and that a classical calculation has to be done to check if that answer is 100% correct. It seems quantum computing is only useful for certain types of calculations.

Anyway, if you feel a need to understand quantum computing that only requires a basic understanding of math I recommend this book.

[joshua bremer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as good as the others

I really enjoy the series. They are short and to the point with interesting info. This one "However" 😉 seems very rushed. Almost as if the author forgot about it and then had to finish the night before their deadline. Also the grammatical\spelling and repeating word errors were driving me nuts. I can understand one or two, but every few sentences for 200 pages was ridiculous. Not the same standard as the other 9 in the series. I hope #11 is much better or this will be the end.

[Rob Sedgwick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brief and more theory than practice

There's quite a lot of theory in this book and only in the final chapters and appendices does the author get down to business. I don't really need to know how semiconductors work to program a classical computer. Quantum computers you need to understand a bit more about the underlying physics but not much. Hopefully there will be sequel with more code in! Interesting though.

[Pedro Chaves · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great introduction to quantum computing!

Understandable, entertaining and easy to read about a subject that is really, really hard to understand! The pointer to IBM quantum experience is great, as well as the mention of a few books to keep learning about quantum computing for the non technical "regular" public!
This is my first book by Andrew. I will definitely look into reading a few more! Thank you for the lesson!

[Mario Streger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book because it brings information straight to the point, and a lot of interesting information. It's small and has all information you expect it to have for beginners, who never dealt with a quantum computer and like me, who will never work with it, but has the curiosity to know how it works.

[Jack · Rating 2 out of 5]

Weak

This was the least informative of the ten volume series. I really liked the others because the author did a great job simplifying complex information. Not so on this one. The information content is pretty low.

[EKANTA BORDOLOI · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exellent

This is very useful for beginners about quantum computing. Writer Andrew takes care of novice reader by imparting general idea of quantum

[Alexander Temerev · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good, if somewhat specialized, introduction to quantum computing, together with working examples on IBM Q. I'd prefer something more comprehensive, though.

[A.A.McPhee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best explanation of how quantum computers work I've come across. (don't worry, you don't have to program one to understand how it works).