What is it?
- It is an area of computer science that uses the principles of quantum theory.
- Quantum theory explains the behavior of energy and material on the atomic and subatomic levels.
- Quantum computers have the capability to sift through huge numbers of possibilities and extract potential solutions to complex problems and challenges.
How does it work?
- Where classical computers store information as bits with either 0s or 1s, quantum computers use qubits.
- While classical bits always represent either one or zero, a qubit can be in a superposition of one and zero simultaneously until its state is measured.
- In addition, the states of multiple qubits can be entangled, meaning that they are linked quantum mechanically to each other.
- Qubits can be made by manipulating atoms, electrically charged atoms called ions, or electrons, or by nanoengineering so-called artificial atoms, such as circuits of superconducting qubits, using a printing method called lithography.