ELI5, if bits are like a lightbulb being turned on and off, what are qubits?
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Qubits are… also like a lightbulb that can be on or off! Quantum bits are still bits in the sense that they are binary, and when you “measure” them, that is to say, look whether the light is on or off you’ll get one or the other.
However, when you and no one else is looking (more precisely, when they are not interacting with any measurements), they can be in a state which is a superposition of on and off.
The easiest analogy to understand superposition is sound. When more than one thing makes sound at the same time, the sounds just overlap each other. The possibilities in a quantum superposition overlap like that, and also like sound, can interfere with one another.
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