AI EncyclopediaQuantum
Quantum computing
From the basics of qubits and quantum operations to error correction, communication and cryptography. See how each technology works and how the ideas connect.
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- Quantum computerA new kind of computer that uses the physics of the very small (quantum mechanics) to calculate.
- QubitThe smallest unit of information in a quantum computer. It can be in a state that mixes 0 and 1.
- SuperpositionThe property that lets a qubit be in both the 0 and 1 states at once.
- EntanglementThe property that ties two qubits together like one, so measuring one also settles the state of the other.
- Quantum gateThe basic operation that changes the state of a qubit. A quantum computer calculates by chaining these operations in order.
- Quantum processing unit (QPU)The core chip of a quantum computer, where the qubits sit. It is the counterpart of the CPU in an ordinary computer.
- Superconducting qubitA qubit built from a circuit cooled so cold that its electrical resistance disappears. IBM and Google, among others, use this approach.
- Trapped ionA quantum computer approach that holds electrically charged atoms floating in place and handles them with lasers.
- Photonic quantum computerA quantum computer that uses particles of light (photons) as qubits.
- Quantum annealingA quantum computing approach aimed at problems of picking the best one out of a huge number of combinations.
- Dilution refrigeratorA refrigerator that cools qubits to just above absolute zero, colder than outer space.
- Quantum error correctionA technique that bundles error-prone qubits together, finds the wrong ones and fixes them while the calculation goes on.
- Logical qubitA group of error-prone qubits bundled together and used as if they were one reliable qubit.
- Fault-tolerant quantum computerA quantum computer that keeps fixing its own errors as it goes, so it can finish a long calculation.
- Quantum algorithmA way of solving a problem that makes use of the properties of a quantum computer.
- Quantum communicationCommunication that uses quantum properties so that anyone who eavesdrops leaves a trace.
- Post-quantum cryptography (PQC)New encryption methods designed to be hard to break even for a quantum computer.
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