What is a qubit?
A classical bit is 0 or 1. A qubit holds two numbers called amplitudes, written α|0⟩ + β|1⟩. Both of them can be non-zero at the same time.
|ψ⟩ = α|0⟩ + β|1⟩Not quite here.
Not quite gone.

All possibilities.
Until observed.
Real mathematics. Quantum possibilities. A little uncertainty.
01 / The observatory
A quiet place for exact answers.
No question is too small.
Quantum basics / For beginners
Ten short ideas, each with its formula and a real calculation you can run in the console.
A classical bit is 0 or 1. A qubit holds two numbers called amplitudes, written α|0⟩ + β|1⟩. Both of them can be non-zero at the same time.
|ψ⟩ = α|0⟩ + β|1⟩Square an amplitude to get the chance of measuring that outcome. Do it to both amplitudes and the two chances always add up to 100%.
P(0) = |α|², P(1) = |β|²The gate that creates a superposition: it turns a definite 0 into an even mix of 0 and 1. Apply it a second time and the two halves cancel back to 0.
H|0⟩ = (|0⟩ + |1⟩) / √2The quantum NOT. It swaps the two amplitudes, so a state that was certainly 0 becomes certainly 1.
X|0⟩ = |1⟩02 / Possible futures
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