Skip to content
QubitWire
VISUAL REFERENCE DESK

Keep the context in the picture.

Two original teaching diagrams, with readable explanations, primary sources and reference files. These are conceptual aids, not measurements or source figures.

Where did the circuit run?

Three execution environments; three descriptions to keep separate.

Three separate panels explain local simulation, remote simulation and a physical quantum processor. Access alone does not establish advantage; local does not guarantee zero cost.
Access does not establish advantage. Local does not guarantee zero cost. This is a classification of execution environments, not a progression from worse to better. AWS documents simulators and quantum devices as different ways of running tasks. A local simulator uses the local environment, which can itself be a hosted notebook.

Use the idea

When explaining an experiment, identify the task, environment and output first. A result from one environment cannot silently stand in for another, and service access alone supplies no performance comparison.

  1. Local simulator Classical resources in the local environment. Outputs model the specified circuit.
  2. Remote simulator Classical resources provided remotely. Confirm the service, method and costs.
  3. Quantum processor A physical device executes the task. Record the device, settings, shots and result.

Sources and permission

Original QubitWire schematic. Reference download; no general republication license is granted. Share the context link. QubitWire terms apply. Read the terms.

Version 1 · Sources checked

landscape SVG · 1200 × 880landscape PNG · 1200 × 880portrait SVG · 600 × 1350portrait PNG · 600 × 1350Context and citation TXT
Selectable text with sources
Where did the circuit run? QubitWire, version 1. Sources checked 24 September 2026. https://qubitwire.com/resources/visuals#environments

Access does not establish advantage. Local does not guarantee zero cost.

Original QubitWire schematic. Reference download; no general republication license is granted. Share the context link. QubitWire terms apply.
Terms: https://qubitwire.com/terms

Sources:
AWS: What is Amazon Braket?: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/braket/latest/developerguide/what-is-braket.html
AWS: Testing a quantum task with the local simulator: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/braket/latest/developerguide/braket-send-to-local-simulator.html

Read the explanation in context →

Make a comparison you can inspect.

A worksheet for reading a quantum performance claim.

Three questions ask whether the task, counted resources and evidence match. A quantum memory result is not an application benchmark; experimental conditions must stay with the claim.
A memory result is not an application benchmark. Keep the conditions with the claim. The surface-code paper reports below-threshold quantum memories and discusses the further work needed for logical computation. Its April 2026 correction changes labels and keys in Figure 3a. This original worksheet does not reproduce the paper’s figures.

Use the idea

The three questions are QubitWire’s reading aid, not a scoring system or a result reported by the paper. They help expose mismatched tasks and missing context before making a numerical comparison.

  1. Same task? Specify the input, output and success condition. Memory protection and a useful application are different tasks.
  2. Resources counted? Name the device or simulator, encoding, repetitions and classical work. Keep the stated conditions visible.
  3. Evidence attached? Link the methods, comparison and corrections. Separate what was measured from what you infer.

Sources and permission

Original QubitWire schematic. Reference download; no general republication license is granted. Share the context link. QubitWire terms apply. Read the terms.

Version 1 · Sources checked

landscape SVG · 1200 × 880landscape PNG · 1200 × 880portrait SVG · 600 × 1350portrait PNG · 600 × 1350Context and citation TXT
Selectable text with sources
Make a comparison you can inspect. QubitWire, version 1. Sources checked 24 September 2026. https://qubitwire.com/resources/visuals#compare-claim

A memory result is not an application benchmark. Keep the conditions with the claim.

Original QubitWire schematic. Reference download; no general republication license is granted. Share the context link. QubitWire terms apply.
Terms: https://qubitwire.com/terms

Sources:
Google Quantum AI and Collaborators: Quantum error correction below the surface code threshold: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08449-y
Nature: Author correction to the surface-code memory paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10559-8

Read the explanation in context →