Focus: GS III: Science and Technology
Why in News?
India celebrates World Quantum Day 2024 on April 14, 2024.
About World Quantum Day:
- It is an international initiative was taken in 2022.
- It aims to advance the awareness and appreciation of quantum science and technology among the public worldwide.
- It is commemorated annually as the World Quantum Day on April 14th.
- India apires to become a global leader in various fields of Quantum Science and Technology.
Quantum technology:
- Two objects cannot occupy the same space at the same time, according to classical physics (based on Newtonian mechanics)
- It was thought until the early twentieth century that this was a fundamental physics law that was followed by everything in nature
- However, scientists began to look into particles like atoms, electrons, and light waves that did not appear to follow these laws.
- The subject of quantum mechanics was founded by Max Planck, Neils Bohr, and Albert Einstein in an attempt to investigate the “quirky” principles that did bind such particles.
About:
- It is a type of technology (developed in the early twentieth century) that operates on the principles of quantum mechanics – the physics of subatomic particles, such as quantum entanglement and quantum superposition.
- As a result, it is based on phenomena exhibited by microscopic particles (such as photons, electrons, atoms, and so on) that differ significantly from how normal macroscopic objects behave.
There are Four domains of Quantum Technology:
- Quantum communication
- Quantum simulation
- Quantum computation
- Quantum sensing and metrology
The underlying principles of quantum technology are as follows:
Quantum entanglement (QE):
- Quantum entanglement occurs when two atoms are connected or entangled despite their separation
- If one atom’s properties change, the other changes instantly, and quantum mechanics observe these changes in properties.
- It improves communication security by using quantum-protected encrypted keys, and entangled atoms can be used to detect whether data transmission has been compromised.
Quantum entanglement:
- Quantum superposition is the theory that subatomic particles can exist in multiple states at the same time.
- Quantum computers are a practical application of this principle.
- Whereas digital computers store data as bits (binary of 0 and 1), quantum computers use qubits, which can be either a 1 or a 0 at the same time.
- This superposition generates a nearly infinite set of options, allowing for extremely fast calculations.
Applications:
Quantum technology promises to improve a wide range of everyday devices, including:
- Improved navigation and timing systems.
- Improved communication security.
- Improved healthcare imaging through quantum sensing (using quantum phenomenon to perform a measurement of a physical quantity).
- Quantum computers provide more powerful computing.
- Improved disaster management through better prediction, computing, and so on.
- To comprehend biological phenomena such as smell and consciousness, as well as the spread of pandemics such as Covid-19, etc.
