Why Quantum Computing Is Not Just Faster Classical Computing
In 1994, mathematician Peter Shor published an algorithm that would factor large integers exponentially faster than any known classical method. The cryptography community took notice—most of the world’s encrypted communications relied on the assumption that factoring large numbers was computationally intractable. Shor hadn’t built a quantum computer. He had merely proven that if one could be constructed, much of modern security infrastructure would crumble. Three decades later, quantum computers exist. They factor numbers, simulate molecules, and solve optimization problems. Yet they haven’t broken RSA encryption. The gap between having quantum computers and having useful quantum computers reveals something fundamental about the technology: quantum computing isn’t simply a faster version of classical computing. It’s an entirely different paradigm with its own physics, its own constraints, and its own challenges. ...