Quantum Computing 2026 · Chapter 04
Chapter 04 · The Machines · Superconducting

Hardware deep dive —
superconducting qubits.

Three machines, one physics stack — Willow, Heron r2, and Zuchongzhi 3.0. By the end of this chapter you'll know what makes a transmon tick, which three numbers actually decide whether your circuit runs, and how to talk to a real quantum backend through Qiskit Runtime.

What you'll learn

How a transmon works The 2026 scorecard Qiskit Runtime primitives