Qubits – quantum bits – are the fundamental units of quantum computation. These are my own “quantum bits”: short snippets from my learning journey as I return to physics. Each post captures a small piece of discovery – concepts I’m unpacking, equations I’m revisiting and insights emerging as I become a student again at 58. This is my evolving superposition of curiosity, discipline and late‑life scientific renewal.
A life rebooted at 58: where nuclear physics, quantum algorithms and Oxford’s imagination collide to challenge everything we think we know.
A physicist on crutches, a mathematician beside her, and a quantum idea revealing why moving slowly can change everything.
Quantum futures don’t widen like a cone — they branch, interfere and reshape themselves, giving us a teddy‑shaped map of possibility.
Quantum Computing Wasn’t a Thing in My Day
Shor’s algorithm at 5am reminded me how quantum ideas can upend certainties – and how returning to physics after 35 years feels electric and timely.
Entangled partners, shared states, and Bell‑pair romance — how Alice and Bob moved from textbook abstractions to the mathematics of my real life.
The Tale of Reappearing Circuits
In our quantum‑gates duel, recurring subcircuits evolve like living motifs—emerging, adapting and reappearing across problems, revealing a computational ecosystem echoing the emergence debates sparked by Mythos.
Satellites and Quantum Internet
Space debris threatens today’s satellites —and tomorrow’s quantum internet. As we enter the quantum era, we must rethink orbital infrastructure, global security and the fragile networks our world depends on. (Link to the physics behind this in this post)
Quantum computing won’t be won by the prettiest physics, but by the modality that scales. Investors are already shaping Q‑Day with every bet they place. If you want to understand the real race, start here.
A technical exploration of how Shor’s algorithm, hidden periodicity, and the Quantum Fourier Transform could one day break modern cryptography and expose the fragile mathematics protecting our digital world.
Quant Optimisation to Quantum Threat Models
From quant optimisation to quantum threat models, this piece examines how Shor’s algorithm and the route to secure cryptography before Q‑Day arrives. jacQ’s template on how to build a quantum-secure algorithm to manage a quant fund.
No, it’s not just about bloody cryptography!
Quantum risk has been reduced to a soundbite, fixated on “Q‑Day codebreaking” while ignoring the deeper, systemic protocol, infrastructure, and operational failures that truly threaten resilience. (And nothing annoys the author more than that).
Google vs IBM: Two Frontiers, Two Futures
Quantum computing is splitting into two futures – Google’s algorithmic purity and IBM’s architectural power. After seeing IBM’s Network Two up close, I’m convinced the real breakthroughs will come from the noisy frontier (pdf link to my MIT assignment in the page)
