Courtesy Daily Mail
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau proved he’s more than just a pretty face when he wowed a room full of reporters and physicists with his knowledge of quantum computing.
The dashing politician was delivering his budget announcement at a press conference at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics Waterloo in Ontario, when he was put on the spot by a journalist.
The reporter opened his question by joking ‘I was going to ask you about quantum computing, but …’ He then went onto ask the PM about Canada’s fight against ISIS.
To everyone’s surprise, Trudeau decided to answer both, starting with his detailed definition of quantum computing.
‘Very simply, normal computers work by …’, he began before he was interrupted by the crowd’s shocked laughter.
‘No, no, don’t interrupt me, when you walk out of here you will know more — well no, some of you will know far less — about quantum computing.’
He continued: ‘Normal computers work by … either the power going through a wire or not. It’s 1 or a 0. They’re binary systems. What quantum states allow for is much more complex information to be encoded into a single bit. A regular computer bit is either a 1 or 0 – on or off.’
Trudeau, who previously taught math and French in Vancouver, said: ‘A quantum state can be much more complex than that because as we know, things can be both particles and waves at the same time. And the uncertainty around quantum states allows us to encode more information into a much smaller computer.