Video: What is quantum?
Explore the origins of quantum mechanics and quantum computing.
By Sara Feijo
What is quantum mechanics? When did it originate? What does quantum computing look like today?
In the video below, Will Oliver, professor of physics and director of the MIT Center for Quantum Computing, and Jeff Grover, research scientist at the Research Laboratory of Electronics at MIT, explore the origins of quantum mechanics and the state of quantum computing today.
“We do have quantum computers today. We’re still learning how to build them, and we’re still learning how to use them,” Oliver says. “But the promise is that quantum computers could, for certain problems, vastly outperform what we can do with our conventional computers. Here at MIT, we cover all aspects of quantum — from algorithms and the design of those algorithms that we would run on quantum computers, to developing these various hardware platforms that we would use to realize quantum computers.”
Learn more about quantum computing with online courses and programs available through the MIT Open Learning Library, MIT OpenCourseWare, MITx, and MIT xPRO.
Get started
- Quantum Physics I
- Quantum Mechanics I
- Mastering Quantum Mechanics
- Quantum Computing Fundamentals
- Quantum Information Science I, Part 1
- Quantum Information Science I, Part 2
- Quantum Information Science I, Part 3
Dive deeper
- Quantum Computing Realities
- Quantum Information Science II, Part 1: Quantum states, noise, and error correction
- Quantum Information Science II, Part 2: Efficient Quantum Computing — fault tolerance and complexity
- Quantum Information Science II, Part 3: Advanced quantum algorithms and information theory
- Effective Field Theory
The MIT Open Learning Library, MIT OpenCourseWare, MITx, and MIT xPRO are part of MIT Open Learning, whose mission is to transform teaching and learning at the Institute and around the globe through the innovative use of digital technologies.
The Open Learning Library is a collection of free, open resources from the MIT classroom. OpenCourseWare offers free, online, open educational resources from more than 2,500 courses that span the MIT undergraduate and graduate curriculum. MITx offers hundreds of high-quality massive open online courses adapted from the MIT classroom for learners worldwide. MIT xPRO offers paid courses designed using cutting-edge research in the neuroscience of learning; its online learning programs leverage vetted content from world-renowned experts to make learning accessible anytime, anywhere.
