The second quantum revolution has been built on a foundation of fundamental research at the intersection of physics and information science, giving rise to the discipline we now call quantum information science (QIS).The quest for new knowledge and understanding drove the development of new experimental tools and rigorous theory, which defined the road map for second-wave quantum technologies, including quantum computers, quantum-enhanced sensors, and communication systems.As technology has matured, the race to develop and commercialize near-term applications has accelerated.In the current regime of Noisy Intermediate Scale Quantum (NISQ) devices [J.Preskill, Quantum 2, 79 ( 2018)], the continued necessity of basic research is manifest.Under what conditions can we truly harness quantum complexity and what are its implications for potential useful applications?These questions remain largely unanswered and as the QIS industry ramps up, a continuous feedback between basic science and technology is essential.In this Perspective, I review how curiosity-driven research has led to radical new technologies and why the quest for basic understanding is essential for further progress.
The second quantum revolution has been built on a foundation of fundamental research at the intersection of physics and information science, giving rise to the discipline we now call quantum information science (QIS).The quest for new knowledge and understanding drove the development of new experimental tools and rigorous theory, which defined the road map for second-wave quantum technologies, including quantum computers, quantum-enhanced sensors, and communication systems.As technology has matured, the race to develop and commercialize near-term applications has accelerated.In the current regime of Noisy Intermediate Scale Quantum (NISQ) devices [J.Preskill, Quantum 2, 79 ( 2018)], the continued necessity of basic research is manifest.Under what conditions can we truly harness quantum complexity and what are its implications for potential useful applications?These questions remain largely unanswered and as the QIS industry ramps up, a continuous feedback between basic science and technology is essential.In this Perspective, I review how curiosity-driven research has led to radical new technologies and why the quest for basic understanding is essential for further progress.
Scientific and technological progress has repeatedly revolutionized society, from the invention of steam-power-driven machines that brought forth the Industrial Age to the development of the transistor that sparked the Information Age. As societies and economies become more connected through global communication networks and reliant on computational power, the demand for faster, more efficient, and secure information capabilities escalates commensurately. Enter Quantum Information Science (QIS) (QIS), a field founded on the physical laws of quantum mechanics that introduce extraordinary different and powerful paradigms for generating, manipulating, measuring, securing, and processing information. While many quantum effects are generally well understood and form the basis of widely exploited current technology, QIS is still a richly underexplored research area. This overview provides a basic research perspective on the foundational resources that empower QIS, the main challenges in exploiting QIS for practical applications, and the need for input from researchers outside quantum physics, such as those from the aerospace community, to stimulate new ideas and advance progress in QIS. This paper introduces key QIS concepts and continues with discussions on each of the following subareas: sensing, computation and algorithms, networks, and information security. The paper concludes with an outlook of the field as it relates to aerospace.
Quantum information has dramatically changed information science and technology, looking at the quantum nature of the information carrier as a resource for building new information protocols, designing radically new communication and computation algorithms, and ultra-sensitive measurements in metrology, with a wealth of applications. From a fundamental perspective, this new discipline has led us to regard quantum theory itself as a special theory of information, and has opened routes for exploring solutions to the tension with general relativity, based, for example, on the holographic principle, on non-causal variations of the theory, or else on the powerful algorithm of the quantum cellular automaton, which has revealed new routes for exploring quantum fields theory, both as a new microscopic mechanism on the fundamental side, and as a tool for efficient physical quantum simulations for practical purposes. In this golden age of foundations, an astonishing number of new ideas, frameworks, and results, spawned by the quantum information theory experience, have revolutionized the way we think about the subject, with a new research community emerging worldwide, including scientists from computer science and mathematics.
Quantum information science (QIS) is a new field of science and
technology, combining and drawing on the disciplines of
physical science, mathematics, computer science, and
engineering. QIS aims to understand how certain fundamental
principles of physics discovered early in the 20th century can
be harnessed to dramatically improve the acquisition,
transmission, and processing of information. The exciting
scientific opportunities offered by QIS are attracting the
interest of the growing community of scientists and engineers,
and are promoting unprecedented interactions across traditional
disciplinary boundaries.
Quantum science underpins many of the most significant advances in modern physics, chemistry, and information technology. Quantum physics provides the fundamental laws governing matter and energy at microscopic scales, quantum chemistry applies these principles to explain molecular structure, bonding, and reactivity, and quantum computing seeks to exploit quantum phenomena such as superposition and entanglement to enable new computational paradigms. Despite their long-standing theoretical foundations and experimental successes, all three domains remain surrounded by persistent misconceptions, often amplified by abstract formalisms, popular science narratives, and rapid technological developments. This contemporary review critically examines the established facts and common myths associated with quantum physics, quantum chemistry, and quantum computing. Emphasis is placed on experimentally verified principles, computational feasibility, and realistic assessments of current capabilities. Recent advances reported between 2020 and 2025 are reviewed to highlight genuine progress in areas such as quantum simulations, molecular modeling, and noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) devices, while also addressing their practical limitations. By distinguishing validated achievements from speculative claims, this review provides a balanced, evidence-based perspective on modern quantum science. The article aims to clarify enduring misconceptions, promote conceptual clarity across disciplines, and outline realistic future directions for research and applications in quantum technologies.
Advances in quantum information science (QIS) are providing transformative insights into the complexity of quantum many-body systems, potentially defining new frontiers in nuclear and high-energy physics. This review explores how QIS-derived techniques are fostering new analytic frameworks and algorithms - both classical and quantum - to tackle (some of the) present barriers to discovery in fundamental physics, with applicability to other science domains. We highlight how these techniques are shedding new light on the structure and dynamics of hadrons, nuclei, matter in extreme conditions, and beyond. Importantly, they are expected to play an essential role in the development of large-scale quantum simulations of such systems, particularly in setting the balance among quantum and classical computational resources.
This review explores the Second Quantum Revolution, which builds on the foundations of the first to advance quantum science and technology significantly. We examine the diverse fields under this revolution, including quantum information technologies, quantum electromechanical systems, coherent quantum electronics, quantum optics, and coherent matter technologies. Assess the societal and ethical implications of the second quantum revolution and provide insights into its potential impact on various sectors, including healthcare, finance, communication, and technology, the knowledge dissemination and awareness of the second quantum revolution. The review emphasizes the transformative potential of these advancements for the economy, computing, and communication networks. Additionally, we address the critical challenges that must be overcome, such as the development of fault-tolerant quantum systems and the seamless integration of quantum and classical technologies. Ethical considerations related to privacy, security, and societal impacts are also discussed, highlighting the need for a thoughtful reevaluation of quantum technology's role in modern society. Ultimately, this review outlines the immense opportunities presented by the Second Quantum Revolution while providing insights into the multifaceted challenges it faces, setting the stage for future research and innovation in this groundbreaking field.