qubit
English
Alternative forms
- qbit
Etymology
Blend of quantum + bit, a play on cubit (“historical unit of length”). Coined by American physicist Benjamin Schumacher in 1995.
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈkjuːbɪt/
Audio (UK) (file)
- (US) enPR: kyo͞o'bĭt, IPA(key): /ˈkjubɪt/
- Rhymes: -uːbɪt
- Homophone: cubit
Noun
qubit (plural qubits)
- (quantum computing) A quantum bit; the basic unit of quantum information described by a superposition of two states; a quantum bit in a quantum computer capable of being in a state of superposition.
- Synonyms: qbit, quantum bit
- Coordinate term: bit
- 2012, ‘An uncertain future’, The Economist, 25 Feb 2012:
- Each extra qubit in a quantum machine doubles the number of simultaneous operations it can perform.
- 2019 October 21, Dennis Overbye, “Quantum Computing Is Coming, Bit by Qubit”, in New York Times:
- Google’s Sycamore computer has all of 53 qubits to its name, as does a new IBM computer, installed online at the company’s Quantum Computation Center in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. System One, IBM’s black cube from tomorrow, only has 20 qubits.
- 2019 October 23, Cade Metz, “Google Claims a Quantum Breakthrough That Could Change Computing”, in New York Times:
- By harnessing that odd behavior, scientists can instead build a quantum bit, or qubit, which stores a combination of 1 and 0. Two qubits can hold four values at once. And as the number of qubits grows, a quantum computer becomes exponentially more powerful.
Derived terms
- multiqubit
- squbit
- triqubit
Related terms
- qumix
- quregister
- qutrit
- qudit
Translations
quantum bit
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See also
- nat, ban
Further reading
qubit on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Portuguese
Noun
qubit m (plural qubits)
- (computing) qubit (quantum bit)