quantum computer
A new kind of computer that uses the physics of atoms to work on certain problems.
Ordinary computers store information as bits, each a 0 or a 1. A quantum computer uses qubits, which follow the rules that govern atoms and particles. That lets it explore some problems in a way ordinary computers cannot. It is not a faster laptop; it helps only with particular kinds of problem. Simulating molecules and materials is the best-known example.
Think of it as
Like a specialist tool in a workshop: brilliant at one kind of job, and no use for the everyday work the regular tools handle.
Example
A materials company wants to know how a new battery chemical behaves. Ordinary computers can only approximate it. A quantum computer is built to simulate that kind of chemistry directly, once the machines are good enough.
Ideas that use this term