Can Quantum Mechanics Help Beat Climate Change?
“Nature isn’t classical…and if you want to make a simulation of nature, you’d better make it quantum mechanical, and by golly it’s a wonderful problem, because it doesn’t look so easy.”
Introduction to Climate Change
Figure 1 - Climate protest. Reproduced from Ref [3].
Climate change is the variation in the average conditions of the earth over a long time, including factors such as rainfall and temperature. Climate change can be seen on our planet as global warming, which is causing polar ice caps to melt, sea levels to rise, endangerment of species and more [1]. In 2015, the Paris Agreement was ratified by nations to undertake ambitious efforts 'to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels' [2]. Unfortunately, little is being done by governments, causing people to turn to new technologies in order to deal with climate change (Fig. 1).
The Quantum Mechanical Explanation of Climate Change
How does global warming occur? Does the atmosphere merely trap heat and cause a rise in global temperatures? How does this phenomenon lead to the effects we see? The answers involve a bit of quantum physics but do not fret as you will soon understand all of it as clearly as a glass prism. Speaking of prisms, have you ever looked at the spectrum of colours when sunlight passes through a prism? If one looks closely at the spectrum of light that comes from the other end, say at a microscopic level, they can see a few dips or dark gaps in this spectrum — these gaps and diminished areas are created by the absence or less number of photons of certain wavelengths [4]. The gaps can be explained using the idea that light behaves as a particle as well as a wave. Light consists of tiny packets of energy or photons (quanta) that aid the energy transfer of light. A photon’s energy can be defined by the following equation where h is Planck’s constant (6.626 x 10⁻³⁴ m² kg/s) and v is the frequency of the photon.
E = hv
When light passes through a prism, the atoms of gases in the air absorb this energy. However, these atoms do not absorb random packets of energy, they absorb photons of specific wavelengths. In an atom, there are different energy levels an electron can have. Suppose a hydrogen atom requires a 656 nm wavelength of photons. The hydrogen atom is not concerned about the photons of other wavelengths that pass by; it only absorbs the 656 nm photon. When a 656 nm photon passes by, the energy of the photon is absorbed by the electron, and the electron jumps to a higher energy level. However, this electron becomes unstable when it is at that high energy level, so it comes back to its previous energy level to attain stability. During this process, a photon with the same wavelength of energy that was absorbed is emitted, but in another random direction. This explains the gaps seen in the spectrum (Fig. 2).
So how does this explain global warming? One may have heard that carbon dioxide traps heat from sunlight. Is this true? Well, partially. The type of radiation carbon dioxide molecules absorb is infrared radiation, which has a wavelength between 780 nm and 1 mm. Some part of this radiation can be obtained from sunlight. When sunlight hits the surface, some of the radiation is absorbed by the earth. Likewise, the earth also emits infrared radiation. Since carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases prefer infrared radiation, the radiation gets absorbed by the gases [5]. The electrons jump to a higher energy level and then go back to the lower level due to the instability, sending back an infrared photon in the process, causing warming. The more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the more the earth warms [6].
Figure 2 - Spectral lines. Reproduced from Ref [7].
Combating Climate Change with Quantum Computing
Dealing with climate change is one of the most pressing issues of our times. The slow political progress of climate action has put an increasing focus on technological solutions to combat climate change. Nature is, as Feynman stated, quantum mechanical. Therefore, we should try to solve the problem of climate change quantum mechanically. One of the potential solutions is quantum computing. Quantum computing is an area of study where computer technologies are developed based on the principles of quantum mechanics. Broadly, quantum computing harnesses quantum mechanical phenomena, such as superposition and entanglement (a phenomenon where the quantum states of two or more objects seem to be linked over a large distance), to perform complex computations much faster than classical computers [8]. Quantum computers have the potential to solve problems far beyond the reach of today’s computers. The most intriguing part is that while in a classical computer, a bit (also known as a binary digit; the smallest unit of any information stored electronically) has two states (0 and 1), in quantum computers, a qubit (quantum bit) has three states including a superposition state. A superposition state means that the state of a qubit can be one and zero simultaneously.
Quantum Simulation
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) stated that reducing carbon dioxide emissions would not be enough to combat climate change; we also need to extract the excess carbon dioxide present in the atmosphere [9]. According to their 2021 report, removing excess carbon dioxide can help compensate for harder-to-abate emissions. The process of extracting carbon dioxide can use natural approaches, like planting trees, or technological approaches that help to directly capture air and store it [10].
Although we can plant more trees, this alone is not enough to remove the excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere [11]. Another setback of only relying on trees is that they are prone to wildfires. During wildfires, trees release a lot of carbon dioxide and other harmful gases. Therefore, this counters their removal of carbon dioxide. One way by which we can capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is by deploying chemical catalysts [12]. Currently, such catalysts are made of very expensive materials, and hence, we need to find cheaper, efficient compounds that can help in carbon capture (also called scrubbing). With current computers, it is difficult to simulate compounds as simulation requires a lot of processing power. In fact, simulating just 100 atoms would take more than a billion years [13]! This is where quantum computing comes in. By simulating molecules, we can find inexpensive catalysts that help to extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Climate Change Modelling
To combat climate change, we must understand our climate better. According to technological entrepreneur, William Hurley, since both nature and quantum computers are quantum mechanical, with this technology humans should be able to build much better models of the effects of climate change [14].
With quantum computers’ powerful computational power, it is possible to model the variables in our climate to understand it better and track climate changes effectively.
Sustainable Transportation & Renewable Energy
In 2018, air travel contributed to approximately 1.04 billion tonnes of carbon emissions, which made up 2.5% of the global carbon emissions [15]. However, according to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, the warming created by aircraft brought the combined total contribution of commercial aviation to approximately 5% of the world’s global warming problem [16]. Quantum mechanics has a solution for this as well. Currently, engineers are able to find moderately effective designs to reduce emissions. Error-corrected quantum computers can help improve the design of not just aircrafts, but also automobiles by enhancing the parts affected by fluid dynamics. For example, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner has a curved wing to reduce drag, which does not require as much fuel and decreases carbon emissions. With the superpower of quantum computing, engineers can explore much better designs for aircraft and automobiles that optimise the lift and the drag to reduce carbon emissions [17].
Quantum computing can also help us in the field of renewable energy. Current superconductors — conductors with zero resistance below a critical temperature such that it allows current to flow without energy loss — only work at extremely low temperatures. Fortunately, with the help of quantum computers, we can discover new superconductors.
According to Danna Freedman, a researcher at Weinberg College, Northwestern, if we could build superconducting electric grids, we can increase the capacity of wires by a factor of 10,000. This would allow us to bring a lot of electrical technologies online that our relatively weak energy grids are not currently suited for. She also described the potential ways in which superconducting electric grids could help us: 'You could build a solar farm in sunny New Mexico and seamlessly transport the electricity to densely populated areas like New York City. You could turn the superconductors into magnets for the generators in wind turbines, which would create a lot more energy with each rotation of the blades' [18].
Other Uses and SDGs
Quantum computing has the potential to make great strides to not only combat climate action but to also help us achieve other sustainable development goals such as the SDGs: 9, ‘Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure,’ 11, ‘Sustainable Cities and Communities,’ 14, ‘Life below Water,’ and 15, ‘Life on Land’ through some of the methods mentioned above. For example, in the future, we would probably have quantum computing-based IoTs (Internet of Things) that can manage energy production and distribution, vehicle traffic, lighting, waste treatment and disposal, and even atmospheric control. Quantum computers can also be used to detect diseases faster and conduct accurate brain scans [19]. This way, quantum computing can improve the quality of human life.
Conclusion
Currently, quantum computers are still in their infancy. Today’s quantum computers, such as the ones built by Google and IBM, work with less than a hundred qubits [20]. However, we humans are hopeful that we can achieve greater heights in the field of quantum computing. The future of this planet is in the hands of our generation (Gen Z). We should do whatever it takes to save our planet because there is no planet B.
References
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