Quantum Computing V/S Super Computing

I was pulled into an interesting conversation last week, something that has been a childhood fascination and adulthood passion- Supercomputing. The context was a media interview trying to access the status of supercomputing in India ( View published story at businessline https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/business-tech/powering-up-indias-supercomputing-ambitions/article66847919.ece).

But one thing that really struck me was an important yet obvious question posed by the journalist?" What is the relevance of supercomputers in an era of quantum computers?"

Quantum computers and supercomputers are often presented as competitors in the race for computational power, but in reality, they serve very different purposes and are at different stages of development. I think it would be helpful to outline few differences and then talk about similarities between a Quantum Computer and a classical Super Computer.

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·???????Different Use Cases: Quantum computers are designed to solve certain types of problems that are infeasible for classical computers, even supercomputers. This includes simulating quantum systems, optimizing large systems, and factoring large numbers. On the other hand, supercomputers are highly efficient at performing a broad range of computations, including simulations, data analysis, and machine learning tasks.

·???????Development Stage: supercomputers are a mature technology with a wide range of applications, from climate modeling to drug discovery. Quantum computers, on the other hand, are still in the experimental phase. There are no large, fault-tolerant quantum computers as of my knowledge cutoff, and the development of such machines is a significant research challenge.

·???????Reliability and Accuracy: Supercomputers are deterministic and reliable, meaning they will consistently produce the correct answer. Quantum computers, on the other hand, are probabilistic. This means that they give the correct answer with a certain probability, and this answer must be checked for accuracy.

·???????Scalability: Scaling up supercomputers is a well-understood process, while scaling up quantum computers is a significant technical challenge. Quantum systems are highly sensitive to environmental noise, making it difficult to maintain quantum states in large systems.

?In the long run, the two technologies may complement each other. A hybrid model where quantum computers are used to solve specific sub-problems within a larger problem solved by a classical supercomputer could be a powerful combination. Hybrid quantum-classical algorithms combine the strengths of both quantum and classical computing. These algorithms leverage the quantum computer's ability to perform certain calculations efficiently and offload other parts of the computation to classical systems. Supercomputers can be used to handle the classical part of these hybrid algorithms, enhancing their overall performance and enabling more practical applications.

Quantum simulation is yet another area where classical supercomputers play a critical role. Simulating quantum systems using classical computers can provide insights into the behavior of quantum systems, validate experimental results, and help researchers understand and develop new quantum algorithms. This allows scientists to explore quantum phenomena in greater detail without relying solely on quantum hardware.

While quantum computing holds great promise for solving specific types of problems more efficiently, classical supercomputers continue to be indispensable for a wide range of computational tasks. The coexistence of both quantum and classical computing technologies allows researchers and industries to leverage the strengths of each and explore new frontiers in scientific discovery, optimization, and problem-solving.