The power of a quantum computer

A conventional computer uses electricity within its silicon chips. Small amounts of electrical current are turned on or off. It represents true and false, or the binary numbers one and zero.

But a quantum computer changes individual quantum elements such as electrons or photons, called qubits. Due to their 'spin', electrons can be up or down, and photons vertical or horizontal at the same time. This quantum superposition means that a qubit is in both states at once.