Quantum Computing 101
An Introduction for the Curious
Dr. Avery Chen • April 18, 2026
Northbrook University — Department of Physics
Agenda
• Why quantum computing matters now
• What is a qubit?
• Superposition and entanglement
• Quantum gates and circuits
• Famous algorithms: Shor, Grover, VQE
• Hardware landscape today
• Error correction in plain language
• Real-world applications
• Limits and open problems
• What's next for the field
Why Now?
Quantum computing has moved from chalkboards to chips. A short tour of where we
are:
• Hardware platforms have crossed the 1,000-qubit threshold in 2024–2025.
• Error rates have fallen by roughly an order of magnitude in five years.
• Cloud access has made experimentation accessible to undergraduates.
• Several governments have funded national quantum strategies in
2023–2025.
• The first commercially useful applications are now plausible within a
decade.
What is a Qubit?
The qubit is the fundamental unit of quantum information.
• Classical bits store either 0 or 1 — never both.
• A qubit can hold a weighted combination of 0 and 1, called a
superposition.
• The weights are complex amplitudes whose squared magnitudes sum to
one.
• Measurement collapses the qubit to a definite 0 or 1 with those
probabilities.
• Physical realizations include trapped ions, photons, and superconducting
circuits.
Superposition
• A single qubit lives on the surface of the Bloch sphere.
• Two basis states |0■ and |1■ are the north and south poles.
• Every other point is a valid superposition state.
• Quantum gates rotate qubits around the sphere.
• Coherence is lost when the qubit interacts with its noisy environment.
Entanglement
• When two qubits become entangled, neither has an independent state of
its own.
• Measuring one instantly determines the statistics of the other, even at a
distance.
• Bell pairs are the simplest entangled states.
• Entanglement is the resource that makes quantum computers more than
fast classical machines.
• Einstein called it "spooky action at a distance" — but it is the most
carefully tested phenomenon in physics.
Quantum Gates
• Hadamard (H) — creates an equal superposition from a basis state.
• Pauli-X — the quantum NOT gate, flipping |0■ and |1■.
• CNOT — entangles two qubits; control flips the target.
• Phase gates — rotate the relative phase between |0■ and |1■.
• Any unitary can be built from a small universal gate set.
Famous Algorithms
• Shor (1994) — factor large integers exponentially faster than classical
methods.
• Grover (1996) — search an unstructured list with a quadratic speed-up.
• Quantum Phase Estimation — workhorse subroutine for many
algorithms.
• VQE — variational eigensolver for chemistry; hybrid with classical
optimization.
• QAOA — approximate combinatorial optimization with shallow circuits.
Applications
• Chemistry: ground-state energies of molecules too large for classical
simulation.
• Cryptography: Shor's algorithm threatens current RSA and elliptic-curve
schemes.
• Optimization: portfolio rebalancing, logistics routing, scheduling.
• Machine learning: quantum kernels and quantum-enhanced sampling.
• Sensing & metrology: spin-off gains from controlling individual quanta.
Hardware Landscape
• Superconducting qubits — fast gates, large fab base (Google, IBM,
Rigetti).
• Trapped ions — long coherence, slower gates (IonQ, Quantinuum).
• Neutral atoms — flexible connectivity, rapid recent progress (QuEra,
Pasqal).
• Photonic systems — room-temperature, well suited to networking
(PsiQuantum, Xanadu).
• Topological qubits — long-term bet on intrinsic error protection.
Error Correction in One Slide
• Physical qubits are noisy — a logical qubit is built from many physical
ones.
• Quantum error correcting codes (e.g., the surface code) detect errors
without measuring data.
• The famous "threshold theorem" says fault tolerance is possible if
hardware crosses ~1% error rates.
• Today's best devices are at or near the threshold for the surface code.
• Useful fault-tolerant machines will likely require millions of physical qubits.
Open Problems
• How do we scale fabrication while keeping error rates falling?
• Which algorithms offer the earliest commercial value?
• How do we benchmark quantum advantage honestly?
• Can analog quantum simulators outperform classical methods first?
• What software stacks survive the next decade?
Thank you!
Questions? [Link]@[Link]
Slides & references: [Link]/qc-101