A quantum computer is a device for computation that makes direct use of distinctively quantum mechanical phenomena, such as superposition and entanglement, to perform operations on data. Traditional computers shuffle information in the form of binary numbers, the digits 1 and 0, which are remembered by the “on” and “off” positions of tiny switches, or “bits“, on the circuit boards. Quantum computers use atoms and subatomic particles as the switches that perform the memory and processing tasks. This is called “qbits” ((quantum binary digits). The basic principle of quantum computation is that the quantum properties can be used to represent and structure data, and that quantum mechanisms can be devised and built to perform operations with this data.

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Apple Inc. refreshed its iMac desktop line by bumping up CPU speeds across the board and adding faster graphics to the top-end 24-in. model.

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