Description: Computers have become part of almost every area of modern life. We use them to communicate, study, design products, manage businesses and solve scientific problems. Even though conventional computers have become extremely powerful, some problems remain difficult because of the amount of calculation involved. Quantum computing is being developed as a different approach to such problems. A conventional computer works with bits. A bit has a value of either 0 or 1. A quantum computer uses a quantum bit, commonly called a qubit. A qubit can represent a combination of possible states until it is measured. This property is known as superposition. Another important property is entanglement, in which quantum states can be related in ways that are not possible with ordinary bits. These ideas can sound unfamiliar at first, but the purpose is quite practical. Quantum computers are being studied for problems involving optimization, chemical simulation, cryptography and othe...