ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Flux qubit

Okay kiddo, so imagine you have a toy car that can move in a loop around a race track. Now, let's say we want to use this toy car to do some really cool things like make a computer that can solve really hard problems. How do we do that?

Well, scientists have found ways to use tiny things called "qubits" to make a super powerful computer. And one type of qubit is called a "flux qubit".

A flux qubit is like a tiny magnet that can point in different directions. Instead of using the traditional "on" and "off" of a regular computer bit, a flux qubit can be in two different states at the same time. It's kind of like how a toy car can be on two different parts of the race track at the same time, like magic!

Scientists use special materials and techniques to build a flux qubit. They make a tiny ring or loop of a superconducting material (which means it conducts electricity with no resistance). Then, they cool it down to super cold temperatures, close to absolute zero. This helps the electrons (tiny particles that make up everything) in the ring move in a very special way, so they can point in two different directions at once.

By using lots of these flux qubits together, scientists can make a super powerful computer called a "quantum computer". This computer can do amazing things that regular computers just can't do, like solving really hard math problems in a flash.

So, that's what a flux qubit is, and how it's used to make a quantum computer. Pretty cool, huh?