Where philosophy meets physics. Understanding the fundamental shift from "Certainty" to "Probability".
Before it was technology, it was a philosophical crisis. Quantum mechanics challenged our most basic assumption: that an objective reality exists independent of observation.
In the classical world, measuring a tire's pressure doesn't change the tire. In the
quantum world, observation creates reality.
The Question: Does the moon exist when no one is looking at it? Einstein
famously asked this, disturbed by the implications of quantum theory.
Classical physics is deterministic (A leads to B). Quantum physics is probabilistic. An electron isn't "here" or "there"—it is a wave of probability determining where it might be found.
This isn't just metaphysics. Computers are built on "Yes/No" logic. Quantum Computers are built on "Maybe" logic. We are turning the uncertainty of the universe into a computational resource.
Two counter-intuitive phenomena power quantum computing.
Imagine a spinning coin. Is it Heads or Tails? While spinning, it is effectively both and neither at once. It captures a state of "Heads AND Tails".
Classical Bit: 0 OR 1.
Qubit: 0 AND 1 (simultaneously, with probability
weightings).
A Qubit can point anywhere on this sphere, representing complex combinations of 0 and 1.
Einstein called it "Spooky action at a distance." When two particles become entangled, they lose their individual identity and share a single quantum state.
Change one particle (e.g., spin it up), and its entangled partner instantly reacts (spins down), no matter if it's across the room or across the galaxy. This allows quantum computers to move information in ways classical computers cannot.
India is not just watching; it is building. The National Quantum Mission (NQM) is a ₹6,000 Crore initiative to build indigenous quantum capabilities.
C-DAC (Bengaluru): Building the hardware.
Raman Research Institute: Pioneering quantum experiments.
QSim: India's first Quantum Computer Simulator Toolkit.
Hardware Gap: While simulation software (QSim) is strong, India still heavily relies on imported hardware components (dilution refrigerators, specialized lasers) to build actual physical qubits.