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How Quantum Computers Break The Internet... Starting Now

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  • Published on Mar 19, 2023 veröffentlicht
  • A quantum computer in the next decade could crack the encryption our society relies on using Shor's Algorithm. Head to brilliant.org/veritasium to start your free 30-day trial, and the first 200 people get 20% off an annual premium subscription.
    ▀▀▀
    A huge thank you to those who helped us understand this complex field and ensure we told this story accurately - Dr. Lorenz Panny, Prof. Serge Fehr, Dr. Dustin Moody, Prof. Benne de Weger, Prof. Tanja Lange, PhD candidate Jelle Vos, Gorjan Alagic, and Jack Hidary.
    A huge thanks to those who helped us with the math behind Shor’s algorithm - Prof. David Elkouss, Javier Pagan Lacambra, Marc Serra Peralta, and Daniel Bedialauneta Rodriguez.
    ▀▀▀
    References:
    Joseph, D., et al. (2022). Transitioning organizations to post-quantum cryptography. Nature, 605(7909), 237-243. - ve42.co/Joseph2022
    Bernstein, D. J., & Lange, T. (2017). Post-quantum cryptography. Nature, 549(7671), 188-194. - ve42.co/Bernstein2017
    An Insight, An Idea with Sundar Pichai - Quantum Computing, Wold Economic Forum via Clip-Share - ve42.co/QCWEFyt
    Migrating to Post-Quantum Cryptography, The White House - ve42.co/PQCWhiteHouse
    Kotas, W. A. (2000). A brief history of cryptography. University of Tennessee - ve42.co/Kotas2000
    Hellman, M. (1976). New directions in cryptography. IEEE transactions on Information Theory, 22(6), 644-654. - ve42.co/Hellman1976
    Rivest, R. L., Shamir, A., & Adleman, L. (1978). A method for obtaining digital signatures and public-key cryptosystems. Communications of the ACM, 21(2), 120-126. - ve42.co/Rivest1978
    Kak, A. (2023). Lecture 12: Public-Key Cryptography and the RSA Algorithm - ve42.co/Kak2023
    Calderbank, M. (2007). The RSA Cryptosystem: History, Algorithm, Primes. University of Chicago. - ve42.co/Calderbank2007
    Cryptographic Key Length Recommendation, Keylength - ve42.co/KeyLength
    Coppersmith, D. (2002). An approximate Fourier transform useful in quantum factoring. arXiv preprint quant-ph/0201067. - ve42.co/Coppersmith2002
    Quantum Fourier Transform, Qiskit - ve42.co/Qiskit
    Shor, P. W. (1994, November). Algorithms for quantum computation: discrete logarithms and factoring. In Proceedings 35th annual symposium on foundations of computer science (pp. 124-134). IEEE. - ve42.co/Shor1994
    Shor’s algorithm, Wikipedia - ve42.co/ShorWiki
    Euler’s totient function, Wikipedia - ve42.co/EulerWiki
    Asfaw, A. (2020). Shor’s Algorithm Lecture Series, Qiskit Summer School - ve42.co/ShorYT
    How Quantum Computers Break Encryption, minutephysics via Clip-Share - ve42.co/PQCmpyt
    Breaking RSA Encryption - an Update on the State-of-the-Art, QuintessenceLabs - ve42.co/QuintessenceLabs
    O'Gorman, J., & Campbell, E. T. (2017). Quantum computation with realistic magic-state factories. Physical Review A, 95(3), 032338. - ve42.co/OGorman2017
    Gidney, C., & Ekerå, M. (2021). How to factor 2048 bit RSA integers in 8 hours using 20 million noisy qubits. Quantum, 5, 433. - ve42.co/Gidney2021
    2021 Quantum Threat Timeline Report, Global Risk Institute - ve42.co/QuantumRisk
    The IBM Quantum Development Roadmap, IBM - ve42.co/IBMQC
    Post-Quantum Cryptography, Computer Security Resource Center (NIST) - ve42.co/CSRCPQC
    Alagic, G., et al. (2022). Status report on the third round of the NIST post-quantum cryptography standardization process. US Department of Commerce, NIST. - ve42.co/Alagic2022
    Thijs, L. (2015). Lattice cryptography and lattice cryptanalysis - ve42.co/Thijs2015
    ▀▀▀
    Special thanks to our Patreon supporters:
    Tj Steyn, Meg Noah, Bernard McGee, KeyWestr, Elliot Miller, Jerome Barakos, M.D., Amadeo Bee, TTST, Balkrishna Heroor, Chris LaClair, John H. Austin, Jr., Eric Sexton, john kiehl, Anton Ragin, Diffbot, Gnare, Dave Kircher, Burt Humburg, Blake Byers, Evgeny Skvortsov, Meekay, Bill Linder, Paul Peijzel, Josh Hibschman, Mac Malkawi, Juan Benet, Ubiquity Ventures, Richard Sundvall, Lee Redden, Stephen Wilcox, Marinus Kuivenhoven, Michael Krugman, Cy 'kkm' K'Nelson, Sam Lutfi.
    ▀▀▀
    Written by Casper Mebius & Derek Muller
    Edited by Trenton Oliver
    Filmed by Raquel Nuno
    Animated by Ivy Tello & Mike Radjabov
    Additional video/photos supplied by Getty Images & Pond5
    Music from Epidemic Sound & Jonny Hyman
    Produced by Derek Muller, Petr Lebedev, & Emily Zhang

Comments • 8 621

  • WarmWeatherGuy
    WarmWeatherGuy 2 months ago +26911

    As a science educator you should be particularly proud of this video. I've never seen this topic explained anywhere close to as good as what this video does. Kudos!

    • Anthony Vallad
      Anthony Vallad 2 months ago +105

      I totally agree !

    • Gavros963
      Gavros963 2 months ago +79

      There's Minutephysics who did it years ago.

    • LordOfNothingreally
      LordOfNothingreally 2 months ago +35

      Kurzgesagt did a very good video on quantum computers as well

    • LetoDK
      LetoDK 2 months ago +91

      Except for the fact that 95% of the viewers will NOT be able to keep up with it, and thus will get nothing out of it.

  • Ihab Fahmy
    Ihab Fahmy 2 months ago +1313

    _In 20 minutes, Derek explains public/private key cryptography and the effect quantum computing has on it better than anyone I have heard in the last 10 years! This is an insanely great visualization of the topic._

    • akjohnny
      akjohnny Month ago +2

      but does it matter tho

    • flint from mother 3 gaming
      flint from mother 3 gaming Month ago +39

      @akjohnny Does anything matter, does having the ability to cook matter when someone can do it for you, does it matter if you work when people can donate you money outside instead of working.

    • Vince C
      Vince C Month ago

      ​@flint from mother 3 gaming sorry about Hinawa

    • Miguel
      Miguel Month ago +12

      @akjohnny Does your identity matter? Your possessions? Job? Privacy?

  • Ed Paul
    Ed Paul Month ago +92

    Quantum computing is both extremely fascinating and terrifying at the same time.

    • Jackson Valdez
      Jackson Valdez 4 days ago +1

      They are in a superposition of fascinating and terrifying

    • Grumbles
      Grumbles 4 days ago +3

      No need to be terrified, Quantum Computing is a bubble that's about to burst. Billions of investments have been poured into it and progress hasn't even come close to a single commercially (or academically) use for them. They can't do a single practical thing better than a standard computer yet, after 30 years of big claims about it being just "5-10 years away". Nobody knows how to write software for them, and they're insanely expensive to run even for a few minutes. Maybe one day we'll make a big discovery, but for now there's 0 indication of it becoming viable even in the next 50 years, and even then it'll only be useful for very niche applications.

    • Jackson Valdez
      Jackson Valdez 4 days ago

      ​@Grumbles true. I think a fundamental error with quantum computers, which is that you lose information when collapsing a super position as explained at 5:20, will not allow quantum computers to reach general purpose.

  • Darshan Dani
    Darshan Dani Month ago +157

    The ability this man has to simplify the most complex things is on another level. I very much appreciate the efforts and research that goes into each video. Thank you so much, and please keep making such content ✨

    • V
      V 13 days ago +2

      Scott Aaronson even recommends this video (and trashes Kaku's book) in "Book Review: “Quantum Supremacy” by Michio Kaku (tl;dr DO NOT BUY)" on his blog

  • emanresu
    emanresu Month ago +310

    This is my field of work, quantum hardware (PhD). Thanks for covering this topic. I participate in both the technical and non-technical coverage of quantum hardware. On that note, I'll be delivering some invited quantum hardware lecture series on the machines/chips we've been building at my research lab and more. It will be open to the public next week on April 12th with my IBM friends and QuantumGrad. You are all welcomed to join us to learn about what tools and equipment we use to build real quantum devices in the field. Ignore the naysayers, let's keep building and learning from what we build. -Onri the Diné Quantum Engineer

    • OliverWendellDouglas
      OliverWendellDouglas Month ago +2

      That all sounds great, but I'm here to find out if the Blue Kachina danced yet or not.

    • DukeofBlasphemy
      DukeofBlasphemy Month ago +3

      please don't the future is scary enough as it is. humans with incredible powers and technology is not a good thing.

    • Seth Murrant
      Seth Murrant Month ago +15

      @DukeofBlasphemy then get off your phone

    • DukeofBlasphemy
      DukeofBlasphemy Month ago +1

      @Seth Murrant i don't own a phone

    • Opinions
      Opinions Month ago +5

      ​@DukeofBlasphemy tf you using to type this

  • Breno Tresoldi Minzon
    Breno Tresoldi Minzon 2 days ago +4

    I graduated in Computer Engineering nearly 20 years ago. This video brought back the same sparkles to my eyes I had during the Calculus and physics classes back there. Thank you so much for it!

  • User
    User Month ago +44

    This must have taken you so much time and effort to think through how to so perfectly and efficiently explain these complex topics. You have an incredible talent for educating. Great video!!

  • David Terr
    David Terr Month ago +4

    Great, easily comprehensible explanation of Shor's algorithm! I also really liked your explanation of the proposed multidimensional lattice encryption system, which will hopefully replace RSA soon!

  • Saquib Faisal
    Saquib Faisal Month ago +78

    You too are an unsung hero Derek. I've never seen any video simplifying quantum computation in such a layman's language. We learn a lot from you and respect your work(specially this one). Thank you for giving us Vertasium.

    • Cheryl L. Fox
      Cheryl L. Fox Month ago +3

      I've had zero explaining on how, what, why any computing works. Being 57,I never understood how everything reduced to one's & zero's! But I understood what this guy was explaining quite well. No glazed eyes here! It made perfect sense to me. To see it, is to understand it. Maybe it was the spacial thing, using the graph, along with 3-D imaging. I'm Amazed! Now I see how ones's & zero's work!

    • Saquib Faisal
      Saquib Faisal Month ago +3

      @Cheryl L. Fox you know what's more amazing? People like you who are curious and never stop learning regardless of their age. We need more people like you. Thanks for existing.

  • Postulating Spin
    Postulating Spin Month ago +5

    Remarkable presentation in a world of the “utterly unremarkable.” Equipped with only a rudimentary education in mathematics, even I was able to grasp what you were trying to explain. Bravo….if only I had teachers like you whilst growing up.

  • Aung Thu Hein
    Aung Thu Hein 2 months ago +1625

    There should be like an award for how much effort a creator puts into a single video on Clip-Share.

    • Chris B. Heckons
      Chris B. Heckons 2 months ago +27

      its amazing its like a A+++ project for a final. and the great references!!!!

    • Bill Keller
      Bill Keller 2 months ago +11

      There is, you watching it!

    • symphony
      symphony 2 months ago +7

      there is it's called a youtube award

    • Dude, smell my helmet.
      Dude, smell my helmet. 2 months ago +3

      This isn't the winner though. He has much more amazing productions

    • Aung Thu Hein
      Aung Thu Hein 2 months ago +3

      @Dude, smell my helmet. Like which one? I feel like this one has the most stuff in it compared to videos he made recently.

  • Ashwin Anil
    Ashwin Anil 2 months ago +33

    Dude...!!! You exist for a reason and what you do is definitely the right path you've chosen. Someone give this man a medal !!!!

    • Magnisox
      Magnisox Month ago +1

      he doesnt need a medal, he is a medal

    • Peter
      Peter Month ago

      pretty sure he is just a narrator, and the one who deserves the medal is the animator.

    • Magnisox
      Magnisox Month ago

      @Peter the script maker deserves that

    • Peter
      Peter Month ago

      @MagnisoxI couldn't agree more.

  • gimplar
    gimplar 22 days ago

    I love these videos so much. Exploring incredibly complex topics and breaking everything down in under 30 minutes. Beautiful work.

  • glitchy_weasel
    glitchy_weasel Month ago +8

    Uff! What a fantastic video. Never managed to wrap my head around quantum computers, so your video is the first time I grasped the essence of simple quantum computer concepts. One of your bests yet, in my opinion!

  • MetaBallStudios
    MetaBallStudios 2 months ago +573

    Thank you for bringing this technology closer to us and understanding a little more about how amazing it can be.

  • cyberbilge
    cyberbilge Month ago +2

    What an incredibly clear and easy to follow explanation. Your videos are always great but this was exceptional.

  • SeiShinCasios
    SeiShinCasios Month ago +4

    I love your videos! They allow me a look into such interesting topics that would normally be way over my knowledge levels and actually get a graps of its meaning.

  • Mathocity
    Mathocity 2 months ago +1492

    He explained Cryptography, Quantum Computing, RSA algorithm and many more in a single video!! We should be grateful that he's providing this content for free.

    • EJ S
      EJ S 2 months ago +1

      Adsense.... Except it got demo....... By yt

    • Delayed Creator
      Delayed Creator Month ago +3

      by doing analogies ,its not hard

    • zvnavv3w5
      zvnavv3w5 Month ago +12

      Yes and no. The problem is that we have these theoretical mathematical concepts that work in these hypothetical situations we construct, between these finite and infinite sets, yet how do we logically constrain and manipulate these quantum variables in a translatable and meaningful way? We create these incredibly uniform states and measure such limited, inaccurate characteristics - have we really advanced anything about our ability to compute, here? Sure, we could theoretically perform multiple operations and read/write data based on measurable states stored in the existence of "particles" on a scale much greater than our current finite computing systems, but there is a reason this has been a concern for the last 18 years with little progress towards true weaponization - the results are still horrendously inaccurate and meaningless - how do you quantify the infinite gradient of results into our finite computational understanding? All we have really done, as far as this specific video is concerned, is highlighted fundamental flaws in RSA and general asymmetric trust-based encryption, which is something we can simulate with a normal binary super-computer. There is no magic here - we are either purposefully blinding ourselves in order to acquire grant money to perpetuate meaningless quantum computing research or unintentionally confusing ourselves by finding different and terribly inefficient ways of computing basic set theory and calculus problems.

    • Here We are
      Here We are Month ago +1

      If not, someone else would on youtube?

    • youme1414
      youme1414 Month ago

      How is that the case, sir? There are more detailed information available online as well.

  • Aaron Mcdaniel
    Aaron Mcdaniel Month ago +1

    This is a genuinely helpful and intuitive description of Shor's algorithm and quantum cryptography. More so than I've seen in my actual quantum computing class I've taken. You explained a topic well in 30 minutes that took me 3 months to understand.

  • Shæffen
    Shæffen Month ago +25

    No other creator is able to make a video that talks about math the whole time and get millions of views in a month. This is great content

    • Mrp1
      Mrp1 Month ago +2

      3blue1brown?

    • Shæffen
      Shæffen Month ago

      I forgor about him 💀

  • joaofbravo
    joaofbravo 16 days ago +7

    An important note: by now, there are many approaches to post-quantum encryption protocols besides lattice-based ones. However, all of them are only *thought* to be secure against a quantum attack :)

  • VX
    VX Month ago

    I love this, it is great to hear about the people working behind the scenes to keep us safe for years to come. One day I will look back at this video and thank you and all the scientists/ mathematicians for working to keep our data safe as well as showing how it will be kept safe 🙂

  • Angus Chiu
    Angus Chiu 7 days ago

    The best thing this video does is not only telling you that quantum computing will break modern day encryption, but also daring to explain how it works using secondary school mathematics. It’s just awesome.

  • Viniter
    Viniter 2 months ago +2950

    I know this video is probably not going to beat the black balls reservoir or some of your other viral hits, but this is really one of the most impressive pieces of science communication you've made over the many years I followed your channel. These are some incredibly difficult to understand concepts and you really made them make sense. I watched a bunch of videos on RSA and quantum computing, but I never quite got it. Now I get it.

    • Basenji Adventures
      Basenji Adventures 2 months ago +10

      This video should get that many views and more. 💯

    • KingDong
      KingDong 2 months ago +22

      black balls? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

    • (Prod.Yafa)
      (Prod.Yafa) 2 months ago +10

      @KingDong on what website could I find this video?

    • Viniter
      Viniter 2 months ago +46

      @KingDong Yeah, 96 million of them! Derek's black balls are his most popular video! It has almost as many views as there is balls in it.

    • gravysauce
      gravysauce 2 months ago +14

      @Viniter Hahaha. I feel so immature laughing at balls.

  • ғʀᴏᴢᴇɴꨄᴡᴀᴠᴇs

    Very informative and well explained! Tomorrow I've my college exam on information security and this really helped me to understand RSA algo better. Thanks a lot!

  • Arvind Radhakrishnan
    Arvind Radhakrishnan Month ago +2

    This was such an amazing video. Super clear content and so beautifully illustrated! Thank you

  • MOOSE.762
    MOOSE.762 Month ago +2

    Great video Man. If i had teachers like you in school back in the day it could have a huge difference in my life. ❤

  • Fid Rewe
    Fid Rewe 2 months ago +1

    Congratulations, you did an amazing job at making this comprehensible for non quantum computing / encryption experts.

  • Blackbody Economics
    Blackbody Economics Month ago +1

    Best video you've done in a while my friend. It's odd that very few people have tackled PQC / QRCA ... so props for actually diving into this. Very cool. Thanks man :)

  • NGUD_Gaming
    NGUD_Gaming 2 months ago +1833

    As someone who absolutely detested math in every level of education I’m blown away by the fact I’m able to follow and understand this because your explanation and presentation is simple yet detailed.

    • ButterfaceMcGillicutty
      ButterfaceMcGillicutty 2 months ago +79

      That's because math isn't taught be people who know how to teach math. Math teachers can only really teach towards other math-minded people. Like about the 15-25% of kids who have a natural math aptitude. The remaining 75%-85% of us have all sorts of trouble. Math pedagogy is shitty.

    • AYUBALLENA
      AYUBALLENA 2 months ago +5

      @ButterfaceMcGillicutty as a math like I’ve experienced that with my other classmates

    • Teutonic Spacehopper
      Teutonic Spacehopper 2 months ago +16

      I got to 9-minutes in, and my brain switched off. In 47 years, I have never found a day where algebra is needed in my life.

    • M R
      M R 2 months ago +8

      I only got the last part, everything else was russianese to me.

    • Someone Else
      Someone Else 2 months ago +38

      @Teutonic Spacehopper Well, without it you would not be writing this comment, because you would probably be a serf. Be grateful that it exists, and perhaps also grateful that you have a life easy enough that you do not have to bother to use it.

  • Devoran
    Devoran 2 days ago

    This is the first time I've actually understood what quantum means in computing. Been hearing the word thrown around for years but never truly knew what it meant until I watched this video. Great job!

  • Drifter0001
    Drifter0001 10 days ago

    You know, with all your fancy math and calculations, you lost me a few times but I always found my way back (that is a lie). Your stuff is quite informative on more than one level.

  • KYSMO
    KYSMO Month ago +1

    This video cleared up some of the confusion I was having understanding quantum computing - and using RSA keys on a daily basis I never knew it was the first letters of the creators last name - very well done

  • Eden
    Eden 2 months ago +1

    Really great explanation of RSA, I just took an intro to C class where we had to implement it and pretty much write it all ourselves, wish I had this video like a month and a half ago lol. I still got 100% but man it was tough. Great work though

  • Gonzalo Jesús Eyzaguirre Dias

    This was amazingly explained. These are very complicated topics and you managed to simplify them so much. Thank you.

  • Anthony Mack
    Anthony Mack 2 months ago +2178

    This is the best explanation of how quantum superiority breaks the RSA algorithm (and also the best explanation of a possible solution to the problem) I have ever heard. I know how hard it is to teach a complicated subject in a clear and simple manner. Well done!

  • ORBITO
    ORBITO 11 days ago

    My head was melting after 4 mins in ( I will stay in my lane of 3D Animation). All you guys that understand these complex math, I respect your abilities and hats off to you all.

  • Fizskip
    Fizskip Month ago +1

    Great video as a person with some knowledge in cryptography, it was amazing to see how you could explain so many hard topics to understand in 20 minutes.

  • D
    D 12 days ago

    Your talent in explaining is so cool. Even someone from a non cybersecurity background would get this.

  • Ben Lewis
    Ben Lewis 29 days ago +1

    It's going to be a significant challenge validating the mathematical computations carried out with a Quantum Computer. Non-Determinism and numerical instability could be huge problems when it comes to practical implementation.

  • Hellnation13666
    Hellnation13666 Month ago

    this is the greatest explanation ever, such great work. Thank you. I've been trying to verbally explain this to a few people before and had a hard time.

  • Nuno Cordeiro
    Nuno Cordeiro 2 months ago +1936

    Dude, I went to the International Math Olympiad and this stuff is hard for me. The fact that you're trying to teach this shows incredible respect for your audience.
    I usually have youtube on the background while doing other stuff. Not this video....

    • GauRakshak
      GauRakshak 2 months ago +9

      What city was the math Olympiad held in when you went

    • AG
      AG 2 months ago +39

      A firm understanding of the basics of quantum theory is more relevant in this video than math, I guess.

    • J
      J 2 months ago +48

      This video worried me so much because almost all of it went over my head really fast. Your comment gave me solace, thank you.

    • Hisham Demmisse
      Hisham Demmisse 2 months ago +7

      Nice. I was stuck on the Nationals :( and yea it’s tricky. And I do Real Analysis / Topology

    • ColossalCake
      ColossalCake 2 months ago +7

      I tried to have this on in the background, I have no idea what just happened.

  • Gistus
    Gistus  Month ago

    What I like about the strategies in math that are being used to decipher the encrytpion for the quantum computational process is that it apporaches maths in a way i've never seen before, they are using the relationships to numbers and their common patternality to draw as a functional computational point of reference, and even me as somone who struggles with traditonal numerical concepts due to my dislexia, I am able to pictrure this, and personally, for some reason I find it easier to visualise, it's beautiful, and just reaffirms for me that maths really is the source code to the universe around us, and this form of maths to me actually resonates with me so i'm able to try to understand it.

  • Azhar Haque
    Azhar Haque Month ago +1

    I was amazed by the amount of information and effort that went into this video

  • Neal Walters
    Neal Walters Month ago

    I agree with other comments. As a software developer, I've never seen such a clear explanation. Love the graph at 17:40 (time marker) that shows when the two trends meet.

  • david richard
    david richard 2 months ago +2

    I’m no mathematician but I find looking into the mathematician’s world fascinating.

  • petnoto bg
    petnoto bg Month ago +1

    What an amazing video!
    You showed us a problem, and explained exactly how it works, how it finds a loophole in our current way of doing cybersecurity and abuses it. For this step alone you literally had to explain what quantum computers are and how they work, how we currently do cybersecurity, and how these two things can interact with each other. Each of which is a very complex topic. And you do all of this within 15 minutes or so in a clear, understandable, interactive and memorable way. AND ON TOP OF ALL OF THIS you continue by giving us a possible solution to this problem and explaining how it would work (which meant having to explain a complex theory in maths) and at the same time keep the video as short and clear as it it. Absolutely amazing.

  • TimeBucks
    TimeBucks 2 months ago +781

    Unbelievable how effectively you can summarize

  • GünniBusch
    GünniBusch Month ago +3

    Nice! Could you maybe make a video about homomorphic encryption? It’s a encryption that lets you do encrypted calculations.

  • MikesxAnimations
    MikesxAnimations 2 months ago +6

    The amount of times I forgot what this video was about is crazy but it's a good thing, haven't seen equations like that since I did pure math a couple years ago , great video 👌

    • Jazzling
      Jazzling 2 months ago +3

      What is pure math

    • MikesxAnimations
      MikesxAnimations Month ago +2

      @Jazzling it's basically calculus ...I think , don't quote me tho 😂

  • Koi Royal
    Koi Royal 5 days ago

    Incredible, just absolutely incredible to explain this much research in one video. Bravo

  • Narayan G. Maharjan
    Narayan G. Maharjan 2 months ago +1

    Best explanation of quantum computers and algorithms. Kudos to all supporters that help this video so well and informative

  • imBingus
    imBingus 24 days ago

    Thanks! I have been trying to understand quantum computing for a while now. Not as long as it's been around; but long enough.
    This explanation single handedly made me understand.

  • Jared Tambala
    Jared Tambala 2 months ago +687

    You just managed to explain half a semester of QIT in a single video. This is absolutely fantastic! I wish I'd had this video back in college!

    • Attewir
      Attewir 2 months ago +19

      Someone (not me) would say you need that semesters half to understand it

    • Apof
      Apof 2 months ago +10

      @Attewir Hey, I'm the someone

    • Nombre
      Nombre 2 months ago

      What’s QIT

    • John Doe
      John Doe 2 months ago +1

      Quantum information theory

    • Jeff Caplan
      Jeff Caplan 2 months ago +11

      All QIT is missing is U!

  • Peter Nemere
    Peter Nemere 2 months ago

    Sensational video, the explanations are so clear follow-able. I was sick of reading random articles over the years of how quantum computers will break everything with no attempt to even explain why, because the article authors themselves had no clue to begin with.

  • Bee JayGee
    Bee JayGee Month ago +1

    I got about halfway through and this video melted my brain.
    But I can say one thing for sure..
    The future world of quantum computers is very exciting, but also VERY scary.

  • H M
    H M Month ago +3

    For once in my life I've practically seen the impact math can have on our lives. Finally lol

    • petnoto bg
      petnoto bg Month ago

      It really is so cool! I recently started watching a channel called Zac Star. And the channel focuses on explaining how math can be practical. And it's because of that channel that I actually came to see why math is important. It's super interesting, I recommend it quite a lot.

  • datamed datamed
    datamed datamed 2 months ago +1

    Thank you for you're contribution to applied science and development. I believe that we should continue to development security against the threat of Qauntum Computing as if it gets in the wrong hands of a malicious actor or actors it can be disastrous. I believe confidentiality should be key for the welfare of tje whole world including our respective governments. Thank you!

  • Christian D
    Christian D Month ago

    This for a guy that has been studying quantum theory for dozens of years, and I couldn't explain it with such grace.. Powerful video.

  • Skyward
    Skyward 2 months ago +967

    I'm a CS student and have been trying to understand this concept recently, but the explanations I've found in the internet have been too complex. This was the best explanation I've found. I'm not sure if I understand everything you said but I understood most of it. Thanks!

    • Jesse
      Jesse 2 months ago +8

      Instead of bits, we now have qubits, 0 and 1 until measured, a superstition state until measured. Once measured and revealed, the qbits can possibly be 0 and 1 in many probabilities.

    • stijn van severen
      stijn van severen 2 months ago +11

      GPT4...

    • drTERRRORRR
      drTERRRORRR 2 months ago +5

      Just imagine the logical gateway that remains in both states simultaneously.
      That's basically it from the IT perspective.

    • Smokin_D3ad
      Smokin_D3ad 2 months ago

      @Jesse can it be 0 and 1 at the same time?

    • Maxi Mooze
      Maxi Mooze 2 months ago +4

      Like PBS space time. 😂

  • Al Amin
    Al Amin 2 months ago +1

    This video is so well done that it qualifies as genius. Thank you for enlightening me!

  • Rafael Karosuo
    Rafael Karosuo Month ago

    I truly wonder how AI would play on this, where we might end up having AIs fighting each other to encrypt and break the encryption.

  • alan smithee
    alan smithee Month ago

    4:20 - 5:15
    I spent this time getting gradually more and more terrified that you had somehow managed to get this wrong, hoping beyond hope the superposition measurement thing would be clarified. And it was! Thank god. Even my university course missed out the fact that when you measure it it collapses to just one of the answers... It's honestly depressing.

  • Dozie D
    Dozie D 2 months ago

    I am a doctor and scientist who is above-average in maths and I am struggling to understand some parts of the video, but I can tell that it is well-made (even though it is not QC for Dummies). I will return to it a bit later as I find the topic interesting.

  • runforitman
    runforitman 10 days ago

    i find it so interesting how math protects the digital realm to the point it is unbreakable, for a period
    while you cant do that with physical things
    they can always be broken

  • Sam
    Sam 2 months ago +1680

    The existence of quantum resistance algorithms is very important to note. But the idea that stuff is being saved now that doesn't use those methods is interesting. Hadn't thought of that before.

    • ZeroOne
      ZeroOne 2 months ago +42

      might see a period of criminals cracking this data and extorting other criminals. wild

    • Robert
      Robert 2 months ago +60

      I would not worry much about it. My classic computer with classic piece of software can brake 20y old database in (mili)seconds. Nobody cares much about it. I guess the same will happen 20y in future. But scaremongering bring lots of views=money.

    • ffc1 a28c
      ffc1 a28c 2 months ago +22

      Fun fact. NISS is in the process of standardizing post quantum cryptography. We already know which algorithms will be used in a decade.

    • LUNARSCAPES
      LUNARSCAPES 2 months ago +190

      @Robert Yeah but also 20 years ago people didn’t have their entire lives and businesses online

    • Ferdinand Keller
      Ferdinand Keller 2 months ago +17

      It feels like in tenet where we are fighting with the future.

  • Alan Roy
    Alan Roy Month ago

    Thank you so much for this explanation. I have been searching for an explanation that is clear to me for months. No other explanation comes close to this one. Crystal clear,

  • G Frie
    G Frie 14 days ago

    I would like to join others in congratulating the producers of this video (and many other videos on Veritasium). Seeing it (and hearing a lot of discussions about quantum computing in general) does make me wonder, however, why much less concern regarding breaking of encryption appears to be expressed in connection with the possibility that NP = P and that a constructive method may be found to solve NP problems in polynomial time on classical computers. In fact, if polynomial time algorithms for solving NP problems exist, finding them may turn out to be easier than building an appropriate quantum computer. Moreover, if such algorithms are found, they will invalidate all asymmetric encryption/decryption methods including the lattice-based method discussed in the video. It would also affect many other areas such as cryptocurrency. What makes the belief in the possibility of large scale quantum computer more "reasonable" than a belief that NP=P and that constructive ways of solving NP problems in polynomial time exist? That might be a good topic of discussion for another Veritasium video 🙂

  • Qrispy
    Qrispy Month ago

    I always believed guessing the answer in a math exam at school is better than solving it😂

  • NuSpirit
    NuSpirit Month ago +1

    Honestly KUDOS - I never understood why quantum computers could break RSA/encryption (it was always a boogeyman but badly explained) but this video explained it nicely, clearly and now I have better grasp on the topic :) But I kinda wish you could also explain the other 3 methods of anti-quantum encryption, not just that one.

  • John Clark
    John Clark 5 days ago

    This is the clearest explanation of how quantum computers work that I have ever seen. Excellent work!

  • Alej Random
    Alej Random 2 months ago +908

    As a math enthusiast I appreciate a lot the fact that you are willing to make hardcore math topics understandable for the general public ♡

  • Isti115
    Isti115 Month ago +2

    At 15:55 the plus sign clips into the angle bracket. Not that I want to nitpick, but rather the opposite, I think that the visuals are amazing and I'd like to contribute by letting you know that there might be a bug in the engine you're using to create them, so you (or the team that created it) can fix it. 🙂

  • Franklin.Half.Addict
    Franklin.Half.Addict 26 days ago

    This video confused the heck out of me since I don’t understand most of the terms he’s using, but it was still fascinating to watch and listen to. It’s amazing how smart some people are that figure this type of stuff out.

  • Kraft Der Wahl
    Kraft Der Wahl Month ago

    I want to thank you for publishing this video. It was beautifully done and the graphics were simple to understand.

  • Ridhanshi Sah
    Ridhanshi Sah 2 months ago

    Could you also do a video on AIs and GPT? It's the buzzword around here but I don't really get it... Your videos help me with the science stuff, so please make one on this too🙏

  • vishsagi2011
    vishsagi2011 12 days ago

    So we are decrypting by using positional patterns. Interesting. Quantum computers expedite the pattern recognition. Very cool. You know I was wondering on the lattices part . If dimensionality increases the complexity of nailing the position of an object I wonder that we move from 3Dto 5D to 7D is it harder to see people physically? I know I know all that isn’t science but I have heard so many alternative spiritualists talk about this I have to wonder. Great video thank you ❤ Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak 😂

  • Kenny Yeung
    Kenny Yeung 2 months ago +692

    After watching countless videos trying to understand this topic, this is honestly the only one that I can follow through! Well done and please keep cranking more videos. Thank you so much!

    • Moshil Parshung
      Moshil Parshung 2 months ago +21

      Keep it up. Happy to see your support to the channel.

    • Fushiii
      Fushiii 2 months ago +14

      Love to see the support!

    • Ko
      Ko 2 months ago +2

      you need to understand the (mostly simple) math behind those algo to truly appreciate what's going on

    • Mobius 1
      Mobius 1 2 months ago +17

      ​@OrionCinema Go make your own money.

    • U
      U 2 months ago +6

      @OrionCinema< former scammer found

  • Brad Martisius
    Brad Martisius 2 months ago

    Fantastic video! Just understanding this approach to decryption is a feat in itself. But who in God's name comes up with a series of insights like this? I feel very, very humble.

  • Russ Glove
    Russ Glove Month ago +2

    Could you imagine what might happen when quantum computing is pinned down, and combined with the latest developments in AI.
    Also. Fantastic video!!

    • ee y
      ee y Month ago

      i think we are scrued if they let that happens.

  • Anum Sheraz
    Anum Sheraz 20 days ago

    DAMN, 3:22 - 5:36 you explained such a complex quantum ocmputing limitation in such simple words. Excellent job. Keep up the good work. Sub++

  • Abderrahim Benmoussa
    Abderrahim Benmoussa 2 months ago

    There should be a nobel prize for being able to make a biologist understand maths and you would have it

  • Request_2_PANic
    Request_2_PANic 21 day ago

    I'm curious if quantum computers will be able to generate images, probably like AI, with a specified list of factors to filter the results with.

  • Tim Zeiske
    Tim Zeiske 2 months ago +306

    I'm very impressed with how you can make such complex topics accessible. And it's not even one complex topic it's like 10 different extremely complex topics, in 24 minutes. Hats off

    • Yuv
      Yuv 2 months ago +3

      Hats off indeed!

    • Calix
      Calix 2 months ago

      He needs to explain 10 topics in order for people to understand the main point. Not all viewers have an understanding in the basics of math or physics, so in order to make a point he needs to explain the basics over and over again in every video. He assumes minimum knowledge of the audience in order to gain as much viewership as possible.

    • aGps44
      aGps44 2 months ago

      @Calix and that is enough.

    • TheSteveMeister
      TheSteveMeister 2 months ago

      No, it just means you aren't very smart. Him having to explaining it to a child only means your brain is equal to a child's brain.

  • yourhost
    yourhost 2 months ago +101

    Keep making more of these videos my brain LOVES IT! You explained it so well compared to every other video I’ve watched on this topic. I’m thinking of all the possibilities. A chess bot that sees 100 moves ahead, a solution to the 3x - 1 problem, a gaming PC that can process petabytes in less than a second, so much. The possibilities are exponential with the more qubits there are, but breaking encryption does seem like a real threat unless we had a chapter book of random characters for each of our passwords.
    All your videos are amazing. Never stop!

    • Atash Gallagher
      Atash Gallagher Month ago +3

      Looking at unreal engine 5, gpt-4, and the most recent stable diffusion models, thinking what those could do for the dialogue, visuals, and art in games. And then imagining what those could do running on massive quantum computers.
      Imagine a game with dialogue and story written in real time based on your actions. With the art and sound and music all done in real time as you play. It would be like the entire game is being made for you.
      And all of it would look completely indistinguishable from real life.
      And this could be made into VR which wouldn't be too hard to turn into a completely immersive full dive system like the matrix. Just less AI torture Sim and more giant videogame paradise.
      I honestly think that that's where the aliens are. The Fermi paradox's solution is that aliens invent quantum computers, invent AI, and create VR and then all dissappear into matrix style simulation paradises.
      You can just be doing whatever you want in a game of D&D with friends but you're actually there. Whatever you can dream of.
      And there are people who say you'd get sick of it eventually but just temporarily section off your memory do you can experience it for the first time a thousand times and remember all those afterwards.

    • K S
      K S Month ago +1

      ​​@Atash Gallagher not a big fan of the idea of altering my perseption of reality to that extent. And I'm a sucker for new tech and and video games

    • CatONfire
      CatONfire Month ago +9

      You missed the concept entirely. Quantom computers arent just super strong all powerful computers capable of solving any enigma we hold. RIght now they can barely factor two numbers

    • Grumbles
      Grumbles 4 days ago +1

      @CatONfire Yeah, unfortunately all the marketing to attract investors has really been eaten up by most of the public. Quantum computers have barely advanced in the slighest in decades, and there's no sign of anything practical coming from them in the next 20-50 years. And then it'll only be for very niche applications.

  • Yavor Kaludov
    Yavor Kaludov Month ago

    This is one of the most fantastic explanations! Thank you.

  • perafilozof
    perafilozof Month ago

    I dislike math, and I suck at it, and yet you managed to explain math which is far above my head to me. Outstanding.

  • Anthonios Wayne
    Anthonios Wayne 2 months ago

    This is the only video in veritasium that are really complex and I actually understand🤣. He explained so well.

  • ashish babbar
    ashish babbar Month ago

    Just amazed to see such simple explanation of such complex topics

  • Geosearchef
    Geosearchef 2 months ago +952

    As someone who's heading into the field of Quantum Computing and knows the formal background for both, the cryptography and QC, this video is simply mind blowing. I have never seen such a good explanation of RSA without mentioning a single concept from group theory. I see the complex background for everything you're talking about shining through and marvel at how you manage to sidestep explaining it completely. I have been doing quite some quantum computing, but I never managed to understand Shor's algorithm, until now.
    Gotta read up on the maths of this now, with the help of an intuitive understanding. :)
    Thanks for explaining the combination of those two complex topics so well!

    • Patrick Killian
      Patrick Killian 2 months ago +15

      I'm missing something here. In reference to RSA He basically said "maths" and "prime numbers" and waved his hands. He didn't explain anything about it.

    • philo betto
      philo betto 2 months ago +2

      I know little about Quantum computers, But I keep getting an Erie feeling, and it hasn't gone away
      can you give some insight into the danger of quantum computers?

    • Geosearchef
      Geosearchef 2 months ago +14

      @philo betto do you mean the physical danger of the systems or the potential applications they could be used for?
      In the latter case, we computer scientists usually classify problems into two categories. Can be solved easily and can be verified easily.
      A list can be sorted easily, a matrix multiplication can be performed easily. A Sudoku on the other hand, we can't solve easily (yet), same for protein folding (required for creating drugs and curing diseases like cancer), prime factorization is hard too. But, if you know the answer, you can easily verify it.
      Those problems are easy to check, but hard to solve. The problem with having access to a quantum computer is now, that I do not have to solve the problem.
      I can just build am algorithm to verify the solution of a Sudoku (easy to do), run it on a superposition of all possible inputs, and collapse the resulting superposition down to a single one I can measure.
      I have therefore just checked all possible inputs instead of having to solve the problem. This is of course just an analogy to get some intuition, QCs do not simply allow you to just solve all so called NP-complete problems.
      The potential (danger) here is the ability to solve a multitude of problems that weren't solvable before, including simulations of quantum processes (that are quantum and therefore too complicated for a classical computer, but a QC is made of the same concepts so it can easily simulate them).
      This will allow for the development of new unseen technologies, medicine, materials,....
      Being able to simulate actual quantum process should turbo boost quantum physics.
      Whether those technologies will be used or abused is the question.

    • John Samuel Suico
      John Samuel Suico 2 months ago +4

      @Patrick Killian Prime numbers are numbers that can only be perfectly divided (no remainder) by itself and 1. So, think for example of the numbers 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7. These numbers are only divisible by themselves and 1. An example of a number that is NOT prime is 4 because it's divisible by 2 (which itself is a prime number). Prime numbers are kind of special because we can think of them as the "building blocks" of other numbers because all numbers are factors of prime numbers.
      The point of RSA encryption is that it's notoriously difficult to find the prime number factors of very large numbers.

    • philo betto
      philo betto 2 months ago

      ​@Geosearchef Initially, use as a weapon is my main concern.
      theoretically, it feels like it has the potential to be many times more dangerous than a group of chimpanzees in a nuclear
      silo.
      and much greater odds of something catastrophic.
      at the least, it will only speed up the inevitable.
      We passed the point of no return decades ago.

  • FireHeartedTimeManagementExpert

    Great educational content. Had to rewatch some parts to make it click but overall very clear.

  • Nathan Neal
    Nathan Neal 2 months ago +1

    Hypothetically, Could a powerful enough math trained AI, be programmed, or taught to convert theses superpositions simultaneously, hence being the mechanism needed to refine quantum computers?

  • Joël Edelmann
    Joël Edelmann 2 days ago

    This video reminded me how much I love and am fascinated by math. Good job on the explainer!

  • Anthony Shiels
    Anthony Shiels 10 days ago

    I did both the Highest Common Factor and Least Common Multiple when I was in Primary School.
    With a University Degree in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics I have NEVER seen it since.
    I would not be able to do this calculation today until I saw this presentation.

  • Debojit Sen
    Debojit Sen 26 days ago

    You're another reason why I've loved physics.

  • Craig Gidney
    Craig Gidney 2 months ago +330

    I made the 20M qubit estimate referred to at 17:15. I was impressed by this video. Shor's algorithm is a really hard algorithm to explain. It depends crucially on bits of signal processing, of number theory, of computer science, and of quantum physics. I think the video did a good job of demonstrating the core concepts of the algorithm, while skipping several of the finicky details.
    I also appreciated a popular video including cost estimates based on plausible hardware, instead of magical perfect hardware. Probably the most controversial bit to me is the plot wildly speculating that the estimated costs will drop by another factor of 100 over the next decade. But, on the other hand, who can say what trick will be found to crunch down arithmetic circuits. Karatsuba found his multiplication algorithm within a week of it being conjectured impossible.

    • Oosman Beekawoo
      Oosman Beekawoo 2 months ago +9

      Wow man! Hats off! 🎩
      You actually got good content now that I see!

    • Joel Williamson
      Joel Williamson 2 months ago +14

      We all appreciate people like you coming and writing feedback on these videos. We trust Derek to have accurate information, but it adds an extra layer when experts confirm that the content is explained well and accurate as usual.

    • Tim McDonough
      Tim McDonough 2 months ago +9

      Great paper Craig. I have read it multiple times. On facet that is often missed is that increasing the key size from RSA 2048 to RSA 3072 only provides another year or two of protection. ECDSA has a similar fate.
      To anyone freaked out about this, don't panic. A new set of algorithms are rolling out, just like other transitions over the last 30+ years.
      Again, Crag stellar work! Thank you!

    • Vigilant Cosmic Penguin
      Vigilant Cosmic Penguin 2 months ago

      Wow, you're practically a celebrity of the quantum computing world.

  • Akshay Patil
    Akshay Patil Month ago

    mind-blowing 🤯. this is the first time I have come across explanation that is related with practical application and so much easy ( compare to others on internet not literally 😅) to visualize and understand. hats-off.

  • Jason Peet
    Jason Peet 15 days ago

    I like the way you present superposition this way the gradient combined with the turning and the equation changing in sync was a really nice touch anyone could understand

    • Jason Peet
      Jason Peet 15 days ago

      Seriously stuff like this is gonna be key for getting people on board with progressive ideas.

  • Adventures Of The Times

    Incredible explanation of this. I've yet to see anyone as in depth as your video here.

  • Mark J Maxwell
    Mark J Maxwell Month ago

    😎 Pretty good explanation.
    Shrodinger's cat was a way to try to explain superposition and some other interesting idea's. It also raised many other topics such as observer based states and random chance.
    Quantum mechanics was in it's infancy but then again so was Einstein.
    We need a reference point for most things we do is science otherwise it is all random.