Tag Archives: #rsaencryption

Shor’s Algorithm, the quantum part

A word in advance

Before I sent my previous essay ’Shor’s Algorithm’ to Chief Editor Paul, I asked Arty (ChatGPT) to give it a look especially with regard to readability and tell me if he thinks it’s worth publishing.

My AI friend responded in his usual friendly and positive manner full of praise.

“…well-written!  …managed to strike a great balance between technical detail and accessibility…  , …classical factoring algorithms, as well as the key differences between classical and quantum computing are clearly explained.”

Of course I was happy with these pats on the back, especially from a guy as knowledgable as Arty, but then he came with some critical comments wrapped up in such a casual way that I almost missed them. Continue reading →

Shor’s algorithm

Introduction

Quantum computing is an expression frequently to be found in the news of every self respecting media outlet.
Time and again, yet another breakthrough is described towards the event of becoming fully operational of such a device.
The method of working of a quantum computer (QC) in those reports always comes down to:

  • The QC does not work with bits like all our present computers do, but with qubits.
  • The bits of our familiar classical computers can have the value 0 or 1 but qubits can have both values at the same time. This phenomenon is called superposition.
  • For this reason, a quantum computer reduces today’s supercomputer to an abacus.

It does not seem that this conclusion satisfies the average packet of questions one has about an entirely new technology. Continue reading →

Using AI in non-fiction context, a justification

In his recent essay, “The slippery slope of AI in books” Paul was almost shocked by his publisher’s question “Did you use AI in creating text, images and/or translation in your book?” Of course, he answered with a loud, indignant “NO” to this question.

Then Paul explains to us that he uses Word’s spelling checker and occasionally a grammar checker. But of course, his text as a whole, is his own. Created by him and only him.

That made me wonder, how does this work out for my text with e.g. the contributions to the math section? I am not a book writer as Paul definitely is, but I write nonetheless. And doing so, I try to maintain my personal style. On a very regular base, Paul and I, exchange email messages with a great variety of subjects. We do this for more than 25 years. The writing is in our own style and very recognizable as such.

But this is entirely different from creating a fictional story as storytellers do. Continue reading →

The secrets of RSA encryption

When clicking on the padlock in the address bar of an internet session, a window appears with the message: “Safari uses an encrypted connection with …”. [red. this message may look slightly different for other browsers]

After pressing the buttons ‘Show certificate’ and ‘detail’, a lot more is shown. The typically used security algorithm nowadays at most news sites etc. at the opening session is: public key with elliptic curve.

But for the sites where security really is an issue, e.g. a login session into your bank account or a large online store, RSA is the encryption algorithm. And RSA encryption is the subject of my contribution this time. Continue reading →

P vs NP – A promise fulfilled

P versus NP – An early encounter

My first programming experience was in the early 80’s. I had bought myself a Texas instruments 58-c programmable calculator, and I was curious what could be done with such a device. That turned out to be very modest.
The calculator was capable of 480 program steps but held then zero memories for data storage. Each memory used for data consumed 8 program steps, so with the storage of e.g. 10 integers, the programming space was diminished with 80 steps.
The 58-c’s memory was retained even after switching off the calculator, but before creating another program, memory first had to be erased. Continue reading →

Sequels

Our math and science author Eef has published a series of articles on AI and Math. These articles are best read in the correct sequence for easy understanding. There are also a few articles on AI from my hand. Check out this page to get it right. Continue reading →