Researching Quantum Computing?

[JackHelkaa]

So I am 13 years old and recently discovered Quantum Computing and I think it's the coolest thing ever. But it's really tough to find a good place to start or ease my way into it. I think I could learn and understand it if i could find a place to start. I've heard Classical Physics are what you should learn first but would love to hear your opinions. Thanks in advanced!

[imatfaal]

Quantum computation and computing is a difficult thing to jump straight into and there is no way you can get a strong academic knowledge of the area without many years background work. However you can get a passable working knowledge by taking much of the physics "on trust" - ie here is a Hadamard gate which ttransforms thus

 

[latex]H = \frac{|0\rangle+|1\rangle}{\sqrt{2}}\langle 0|+\frac{|0\rangle-|1\rangle}{\sqrt{2}}\langle 1 |[/latex]

 

you don't need to have any idea of the process which in the physical world which might perform that or even the strangeness of some of the computations - you just learn with a large set of given axiomata

 

The maths (esp. linear algebra and complex numbers) is pretty essential as is learning dirac notation - but not too difficult. The Berkeley Quantum Information and Computation Centre has lots of learning aids - but I know that stuff would have been beyond me at 13 . You could also try searching for videos by Umesh Vazarani who runs the centre and does lots of outreach stuff

[JackHelkaa]

I probably should have started learning linear algebra before diving head first into equations I have no chance of understanding. I'll probably learn it through Khan Academy. After messing around with IBMs 5 qubit quantum computer for a bit and reading wikipedia articles, I think i have a fairly decent understanding of most of the quantum phenomena used, I just need to learn what the equations mean and what I can do with those from there (also get a more in depth understanding of the quantum phenomena).

[imatfaal]

Khan Academy is pretty good for both linear algebra and complex numbers - this is pretty much essential.

 

For non-technical stuff (although still pretty technical) this is my favourite blog http://www.scottaaronson.com/blog/?p=208 This quoted page is Scott's explanation of the Shor Algorithm with very limited maths. You could also check out some of Dr Chinese's explanations.

[KipIngram]

I second Scott's explanation of Shor's algorithm. I was in high glee when I ran across that - it's fantastic. One of the comments provides an alternative way of viewing the quantum Fourier transform - I won't comment on its rigorous correctness but it surely felt like a nice visual aid to me.