Daily Quantum Learning #1 - What's a Qubit?

I have been wanting to learn more about Quantum Computing, Quantum Mechanics, and AI.

To help achieve this and to stay motivated I figured I would post about it.

I plan on doing around 3 updates each week detailing this journey.

Here is the first one!

Classical bits: A binary way of representing information (0 or 1, on or off)

Qubits: A complex way of representing information that can be in multiple states at once (0 or 1 or a mix of both, on or off or a mix of both)

Think of flipping a coin and not looking at the result. During that time you are thinking it can be either heads or tails but you do not know until you look. That is similar to how qubits function.

The reason these are useful:

Quantum Parallelism - This can process multiple instances at the same time which can exponentially speed up certain types of computations (like some Cryptography problems).

Entanglement - This is where two or more qubits can become "linked" or entangled. This leads to the measurement of one qubit divulging information about the other(s). This could be used for rapid secure communication or to even help limit error and optimize quantum computations.

Superposition - This concept is where a qubit can be in multiple states at once (like a coin spinning in a flip). This is what allows for concepts like Quantum Parallelism to exist. This can be utilized in tasks like searching unsorted databases and factoring large numbers.

To Recap
A qubit is pretty similar to a bit in most regards but the added complexity creates great areas for progress and discovery. While these topics might seem overly complex, much of that complexity stems from their abstract nature and the unconventional thinking they require. This becomes much more approachable through consistent work and analysis.

Hope you enjoy this series! I have some good plans ahead.