Physical and logical qubits
In quantum computing, a qubit is a unit of information analogous to a bit (binary digit) in classical computing, but it is affected by quantum mechanical properties such as superposition and entanglement which allow qubits to be in some ways more powerful than classical bits for some tasks. Qubits are used in quantum circuits and quantum algorithms composed of quantum logic gates to solve computational problems, where they are used for input/output and intermediate computations.
Flux qubit
The flux qubit is distinguished from other types of superconducting qubit such as the charge qubit or phase qubit by the coupling energy and charging energy of its junctions. In the charge qubit regime the charging energy of the junctions dominates the coupling energy, while in a flux qubit the situation is reversed and the coupling energy dominates. Typically in a flux qubit the coupling energy is 10-100 times greater than the charging energy. It is this ratio that allows the Cooper pairs to flow continuously around the loop, rather than tunnel discretely across the junctions as in a charge qubit.