ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Adiabatic quantum computation

Alright kiddo, so adiabatic quantum computation is like a really cool type of computer that can solve really hard problems that regular computers can't.

Imagine you have a big puzzle with a million pieces, and it would take you forever to put it together. Well, with adiabatic quantum computation, you can solve puzzles like that much faster.

How does it work? Well, instead of using regular bits like in a regular computer, adiabatic quantum computers use something called qubits. Qubits are like really small particles that can hold a lot of information at once.

The computer starts by setting up all the qubits in a special way that represents the puzzle you're trying to solve. Then, it uses a special type of energy to gradually change the qubits until they end up in a different special arrangement that tells you the solution to the puzzle.

Here's the really cool part: the computer changes the qubits very slowly so that they always stay in something called the "ground state". That means that they stay very stable and don't lose any of the information they're holding.

So, the adiabatic quantum computer changes the qubits really slowly while making sure they don't lose any information, and in the end, it gives you the answer to a really tough puzzle much faster than a regular computer could. How neat is that?