Quantum computing: an illustrated guide

At the smallest scales in the universe, at the level of an atom, the laws of physics are weird. You can know precisely where something like an electron is, but not how fast it is going. If you know exactly how fast it is going, you cannot know where it is. As for location, an electron could be in many places at once, each with a different probability. Describing this is the job of quantum physics.

Quantum physics works together with computer science to make a new type of computer called a quantum computer. It uses quantum weirdness to solve problems we have not been able to solve with supercomputers. It can crack codes way faster than supercomputers. It might even help us build better drugs and materials.

Why are some problems harder to solve than others? Who thought of making a quantum computer and who is making it? Are they very different to the ones we use now? Are there things it cannot do? Take a visual tour of its evolution: the people, the physics and a flavour of how we might program it.

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