Quantum Computing: From Qubits to Fault Tolerance

By: Halloway, Theodore

Quantum computing has stopped being a theory. It is now an engineering race, a security deadline and a career skill. This book explains it clearly, from first principles to the latest breakthroughs.

Between 2024 and 2026 the field changed more than in the decade before. Error correction crossed the threshold at which adding more qubits reduces errors instead of increasing them. Quantum processors produced verifiable results beyond the reach of classical supercomputers. NIST published the first post-quantum cryptography standards, and governments set firm dates to retire the encryption that protects the internet. Most textbooks were written before any of this happened.

Quantum Computing: From Qubits to Fault Tolerance takes you from the first qubit to the frontier of the field. It assumes basic programming and introductory linear algebra, and no prior physics.

Inside you will learn:

The foundations: complex vector spaces, Dirac notation, the postulates of quantum mechanics, the Bloch sphere, density matrices and entanglement, all built from scratchThe circuit model: gates, universality, reversible computation, and what quantum computers can and cannot do efficientlyThe landmark algorithms: Deutsch-Jozsa, Bernstein-Vazirani, Simon, the quantum Fourier transform, phase estimation, Shor's factoring algorithm and Grover search, each worked through step by stepNear-term methods: Hamiltonian simulation, VQE, QAOA and hybrid quantum-classical computing, with an honest look at quantum machine learningHow real machines are built: noise and benchmarking, quantum error correction and the surface code, and a comparison of superconducting, trapped-ion, neutral-atom, photonic, spin and topological hardwareThe software stack: compilers, OpenQASM 3, Qiskit, Cirq, CUDA-Q and cloud executionQuantum-safe security: the "harvest now, decrypt later" threat, the NIST post-quantum standards (ML-KEM, ML-DSA, SLH-DSA), migration planning and quantum key distributionThe road ahead: quantum advantage claims, industry roadmaps, national strategies and the open problems that will shape the next decade

Built for learning:

Learning outcomes, summaries and graded exercises in every chapter22 hands-on Qiskit labs, each tested and runnable on your own computer"Key Idea" and "Myth vs. Reality" boxes that cut through the hypeOver 25 original diagrams, plus a glossary, a timeline from 1980 to 2026, a linear algebra refresher and solutions to selected exercises

Ideal for undergraduate and postgraduate students in computer science, engineering and mathematics, for instructors looking for a one-semester course text, and for software engineers, security professionals and technology leaders who need to understand what quantum computing means for their work.

Quantum computing is hard, but it doesn't have to be confusing. This book gives you the concepts, the mathematics and the code to understand the field and take part in it.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0HLZ8TXLY
• ISBN13: 9798178913444
• Release Date: October 2026
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 196 Pages
• Weight: 0.77 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 7.0" x 10.0"