Quantenbaustein

The Quantenbaustein, also referred to as quantum building block or qubit, is a fundamental component in the development of quantum computing and quantum information processing. The term was first introduced by physicist and Nobel laureate Anton Zeilinger in 1999.

Physically, a Quantenbaustein is represented as an ensemble of particles, for example, atoms, ions, or superconducting circuits. These particles, or more specifically their quantum states, exhibit quantum mechanical properties, such as superposition and entanglement. Each qubit can be thought of as a two-state quantum system, which can be visualized as a binary switch, where 0 and 1 represent two possible states.

To process information, a Quantenbaustein needs to be manipulated through a sequence of quantum gates or operations. These operations are typically represented by unitary matrices, which describe the interactions between qubits. By applying a series of quantum gates, the quantum states of the qubits can be transformed and combined in a controlled manner.

The properties of a Quantenbaustein are different from classical computing elements, notably a qubit's fragile nature and high sensitivity to external noise. This means that qubits can easily lose their quantum coherence due to thermal fluctuations, electric or magnetic fields, or other forms of external interference.

The widespread adoption of the term Quantenbaustein is primarily attributed to the international community's interest in adopting a term consistent across language boundaries. The translation "Quantum building block" has become the standard in English-speaking countries, while terms like "qubit" (a condensation of the term quantum bit) and "quantenparallele Zweiustandssystem" continue to be used within the community.