A regular computer stores everything as bits, and each bit is either a 0 or a 1. Think of it like a light switch: off or on, nothing in between. A qubit (short for “quantum bit”) is the quantum computing version, but it works differently. A qubit can be set up so that when you measure it, there’s some probability of getting a 0 and some probability of getting a 1. You can tune those probabilities precisely. It’s not that the qubit is “both at once” in some magical way; it’s that the outcome is genuinely uncertain until measurement, and that uncertainty is a resource you can manipulate.

The power comes when qubits work together. The probabilities of different qubits become correlated through a property called entanglement, meaning the measurement outcomes are linked in ways that classical bits can’t replicate. Quantum algorithms exploit these correlations to make correct answers more probable and wrong answers less probable, so that when you finally measure, you’re likely to get something useful. This gives quantum computers an edge for certain problems, like simulating molecular behavior for drug discovery or optimizing complex logistics. We’re still in the early stages of building reliable, large-scale quantum computers, but the qubit is the fundamental building block that makes all of it possible.

Looking for a more detailed description? Find it at quera.com/glossary

Quantum advantage is the point where a quantum computer can solve a specific problem faster or better than even the most powerful traditional (classical) computers in the world.

This doesn’t mean quantum computers are faster at everything. They won’t load your web browser quicker or run video games better. But for certain hard problems, like simulating how molecules behave to design new drugs, or optimizing complex logistics routes, they can potentially do in minutes or hours what a classical supercomputer would need thousands or even millions of years to finish. Quantum advantage is the milestone where that speedup stops being theoretical and starts being real and useful for practical problems people actually care about.

Looking for a more detailed description? Find it at quera.com/glossary

Today I’m launching a personal project I’ve wanted to ship for a while — quantum comics.

Tomorrow, Sunday, and on future Sundays, I’ll post a new “Quantum Bits” strip featuring my two heroines, Quantessa and Atomique.

As a kid, I was always looking forward to the Sunday comics. Ripping open the newspaper, spreading the colorful pages across the floor — that was the highlight of the week. Peanuts, Garfield, Dennis the Menace, Doonesbury, Spider-Man — I devoured them all.

Years later, I was delighted to take my kids to the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, California, celebrating the creator of Peanuts. Seeing his original strips up close reminded me how much a simple comic can spark curiosity and joy.

Sunday has been the day for comics since newspapers started printing them in the 1890s. Color printing, bigger pages, families with time to read — Sunday was made for comics. And for me, it was pure magic.

I think quantum computing deserves its own version of that magic.

Quantum can feel intimidating. Superposition, entanglement, error correction — these concepts matter, but they’re often buried in jargon or lost in hype. Quantum Bits is my attempt to change that. Each Sunday strip will take a quantum term or idea and trying to make it accessible, visual, and — I hope — fun.

No PhD required. Just Quantessa, Atomique, and a few laughs along the way.