Cryptography Apocalypse

1Introduction to Quantum Mechanics

Those who are not shocked when they first come across quantum theory cannot possibly have understood it.

Niels Bohr, quantum physicist and 1922 Nobel Prize winner

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

Arthur C. Clarke, science-fiction author

Chapter 1 will discuss quantum mechanics basics, concentrating on the topics that relate particularly to quantum computing. This chapter is intentionally not completely inclusive as that would require a book and not just a chapter on the subject. It will not cover every particle, property, or possible interaction and will skip all the complicated math and equations.

This chapter will give you enough of an understanding of quantum physics to explain how quantum computers are capable of quickly answering previously considered impossible-to-solve math problems, which many common types of encryption are based on to provide protection. Understanding quantum mechanics and quantum computing perfectly is not required to prepare for the coming cryptographic breaks, but it does help to have some background basics when discussing the relevant issues with others.

What Is Quantum Mechanics?

In this section, I'll explain quantum mechanics, but I want to give a little caution if this is your first exposure to the topic. Quantum mechanics is incredibly cool, but at the same time we don't fully understand what is going on. Much of it seems so strange to our current understanding of how ...