I was watching a programme recently, generally centered around cyberwarfare, and the reliance of the web upon prime numbers and quantuam computing was a component.

 

Anybody care to discuss some of the features of quantum computing, what we might expect from it, where it's up to in terms of progress, how it differs from everything we've been doing up until now in computing?

 

 

Here is a link to my favourite quantum computation blog (ok it's the only one I know of...)

 

MIT's Scott Aaronson Shtetl-Optimized

 

The algorithm that Scott discusses is the sort of thing that if properly implemented would allow large prime factors to be discerned in double quick time. This would - to an extent - open all current heavy duty codes.