Difference Between Bits and Quantum Bits
Last Updated :
23 Aug, 2024
There are two units of information namely, Bits and Quantum Bits. However, both Bits and Quantum Bits are different from each other. Bits, also called Classical Bits, is the smallest unit of measuring information and it can have only two values, i.e. 0 and 1, while Quantum Bits, also called Qubits, is a unit of information measurement employed in quantum computing.
What are Bits?
In computing technology, a bit is the smallest unit of information measurement. It is also called a classical bit. Basically, Bit is the acronym for Binary Digit. Therefore, a bit is nothing but a binary 0 or a binary 1.
Bits are used to express information in all digital computing systems. Multiple bits can be grouped together to form larger units of information. For example, 8-bits are grouped together to form a Byte. In computers and other digital systems, bits are used to specify two states of an electronic device, i.e. On and Off. Bits are used in all modern digital computers and electronic devices.
What are Quantum Bits?
Quantum Bit is the smallest unit of information measurement in quantum computing. It is also called Qubit. Unlike, classical bits, a quantum bit can have multiple states at the same time. This property of Qubits is known as superposition.
In other words, a quantum bit can have a combination of 0 and 1 simultaneously, making quantum computers to process data much faster than classical computers. Another important and unique characteristic of quantum bit is entanglement, which means two quantum bits can be correlated with each other so that the state of one quantum bit is dependent on the state of another quantum bit.
The entanglement property of quantum bit enables to develop the new algorithms to solve complex problems easily by using quantum computing. It is most important to known about quantum bits that quantum bits are implemented based on quantum systems like atoms, ions, etc.
After getting insights into the basics of bits and quantum bits, let us now discuss the important differences between them.
Difference Between Bits and Qubits in Quantum Computing
| BITS | QUANTUM BITS |
|---|
| The device computes by manipulating those bits with the help of logical gates (AND, OR, NOT). | The device computes by manipulating those bits with the help of quantum logic gates. |
| A classical computer has a memory made up of bits where each bit hold either a one or zero. | A qubits (quantum bits) can hold a one, a zero or crucially a superposition of these. |
| Bits are used in classical computers. | Qubits(Quantum bits) are use in quantum computer |
| Information is stored in bits, which take the discrete values 0 and 1. | Information is stored in quantum bits, or qbits. A qbit can be in states labelled |0} and |1}, but it can also be in a superposition of these states, a|0} + b|1}, where a and b are complex numbers. If we think of the state of a qbit as a vector, then superposition of states is just vector addition. |
| For example, if storing one number takes 64 bits, then storing N numbers takes N times 64 bits. | For example, for every extra qbit you get, you can store twice as many numbers. For example, with 3 qbits, you get coefficients for |000}, |001}, |010}, |011}, |100}, |101}, |110} and |111}. |
| Bits are slow. | Qubits are faster. |
| Its circuit behaviour based on classical physics. | Its circuit behaviour based on quantum mechanics. |
Conclusion
From the above comparison, it is clear that bits and quantum bits have different properties and use different types of computing technologies to perform operations. The most significant difference between bits and quantum bits is that bit is the smallest unit of information measurement and processing that takes binary 0 and binary 1 as a value in digital computing systems, whereas quantum bit is the smallest unit of information measurement and processing in quantum computing systems that can have multiple values at the same time
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