.jpg)
PopTika / Shutterstock
The world is facing a global energy crisis. Consumption of energy is rapidly increasing as our devices require more and more power, and technology becomes more widespread in developing nations. Our internet-connected devices will be responsible for 3.5% of global emissions within ten years, rising to 14% by 2040.
Internet-connected devices have become commonplace in our homes, we use them all day long to check emails, talk to friends, connect to the latest news headlines, stream video and music, shop, book flights, connect to social media and more, and usage is rising at a rate of 20% a year.
In 2015, this represented 3-5% of energy use, but by 2025 this is predicted to increase to consume 20% of all electricity. There will be 20.4 billion devices connected to the Internet of Things by next year, along with 4.1 billion new internet users.
The numbers are troubling energy experts who fear that the problem is only set to get worse as energy consumption continues to gear up. Fortunately, there are possible solutions on the horizon; quantum computing presents a viable option to aid the global energy crisis.
Advantages of Quantum Computing
Quantum computing is just breaking onto the scene and is offering a much more efficient way of processing than current computers can manage. The science behind their functioning is that quantum computers have switched transistors, which code data in binary (1s or 0s), with qubits, which can hold information as both a 1 and a 0 at the same time.
The process may seem complicated, but in short, this means that the computers can process in parallel, rather than linear, meaning that they are significantly quicker at processing information. This results in them completing tasks in a mere fraction of the time that conventional computers can, and we are only just at the beginning of quantum computing’s capabilities.
Currently, quantum computers are able to reduce energy consumption by anything from 100 up to 1000 times in comparison to their conventional computer counterparts. This means that as energy demands increase, we can make a switch to using quantum computing in major areas in order to reduce the impact of this inflated consumption. Big industries such as aviation, automobiles, medical research, and data analytics are all currently looking to quantum to solve their problems.
Quantum Computing in Aviation
Aviation relies heavily on the computations of modeling aeronautical scenarios. With quantum computing, this task can be done with a fraction of the energy in a fraction of the time, making routing and scheduling more energy and cost-effective.
Data and analytics will be using quantum computing to help solve problems on a wide scale. There are some computations that are outside of the realms of conventional computing; quantum will be used to solve these, which will lead to energy conservation in numerous industries through solving problems such as route planning in autonomous vehicles.
Quantum Computing in Pharmaceutical
The pharmaceutical industry will also be becoming more energy-efficient by using quantum computing to help model how a new drug can impact the human body.
Currently, these tasks can take years, and it results in much energy expenditure along the way. By significantly cutting down on development time, quantum computing will be cutting the energy consumption of this industry.
Conclusion
Overall, quantum computing presents industries worldwide with the opportunity of significantly reducing their energy usage. This is due to the power of quantum computing that it can process data much faster using a fraction of the energy than it would with a traditional computer.
Over the next few years, we are expected to see an increase in the applications that quantum computing will have across all sectors.
Source
Disclaimer: The views expressed here are those of the author expressed in their private capacity and do not necessarily represent the views of AZoM.com Limited T/A AZoNetwork the owner and operator of this website. This disclaimer forms part of the Terms and conditions of use of this website.