quantum computer

American  

noun

1. a computer that makes use of the quantum states of electrons or other particles to store and process information as quantum bits.

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quantum computer British  

noun

1. a type of computer which uses the ability of quantum systems to be in many different states at once, thus allowing it to perform many different computations simultaneously

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quantum computer Scientific  

1. A computer that exploits the quantum mechanical properties of superposition in order to allow a single operation to act on a large number of pieces of data. In a quantum computer, the data to be manipulated, represented in quantum bits, exists in all possible states simultaneously, in superposition. This allows a single operation to operate over all of these states at once, in contrast with a classical computer, which must carry out an operation for each state separately. Because of the difficulty of creating environments small enough for quantum effects to emerge but sufficiently isolated to prevent interaction with outside influences such as heat, only extremely rudimentary quantum computers currently exist, though algorithms for possible future devices are being developed.

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Other Word Forms

• quantum computing noun

Etymology

Origin of quantum computer

First recorded in 1980–85

Example Sentences

The company said it will install a quantum computer at Florida Atlantic University’s Boca Raton campus as part of a $20-million agreement.

From Los Angeles Times

“But we know now, there’s a part of these chemistry problems which are best handled on the quantum computer.”

From Barron's

Q: What makes a quantum computer different from a traditional computer?

From Science Daily

Earlier this month, Google, also a US company, told the BBC it had the world's best-performing quantum computer.

From BBC

It was at Davos a decade ago that I was first told about a quantum computer.

From BBC