tl;dr quantum computer: Uses quantum phenomena, most notably superposition, entanglement and interference, to accelerate (get better computational complxity) computations of specific problems, notably e.g. factoring large numbers (Shor's algorithm, security concern). The principle of acceleration is instead of performing computation on a single input to get single output, we can perform computation an a superposition of multiple inputs and effectively get them evaluated in parallel (acceleration). With this we get again a superposition of all possible outputs, each with a certain probabilty to be measured. When we measure the result, we randomly get one of these results. Interference can be exploited in the design of quantum algorithms so that the answers we're not interested in "cancel out" (get zero probability of being measured) so that we only get a result we're interested in. For vectors here we use Dirac (bra-ket) notation: |a> means vector named "a". qubit: Quantum bit, physically represented by some physics quantum property, e.g. spin. When measured, collapses into a result of either 1 or 0 (like bit), but until measured has a more complex internal state (can hold more than 1 bit of information). This state can be a superposition ("something between") of 1 and 0 (implying a probability of either one). The qubit state is a linear combination of two base vectors |0> = [1 0] and |1> = [0 1]: state = a * |0> + b * |1> Where a and b are complex numbers. |a|^2 gives the probability of measuring 0, |b|^2 gives the probability of measurinf 1 (so |a|^2 + |b|^2 = 1). Using complex reasoning we can deduce that the whole qubit state can be represented as a point on a surface of a 3D sphere (Bloch sphere): z ^ |0> _|_ __/ | \__ _/ | \_ / | /q \ | |/ | | |-------|------ y | /| | \_ / | _/ \_/ | __/ / \_|_/ / | x v |1> Above the qubit state q can be represented by two angles: D (pitch) and P (yaw), and the complex numbers a and b can be computed as: a = cos(D / 2) (can be chosen to be always real) b = e^(i*F) * sin(D / 2) quantum gate: Basic building block of a quantum circuit (most common quantum computation model). The number of input quibits, N, is always equal to the number of output qubits.