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Equation 35 · Part 1 · Error Correction Is the Whole Problem in Quantum Computing

superscript

10−310^{-3}
superscript

What this part means

A raised number can be a power. When it is a label or bound, it selects a case or the upper limit of a sum; the formula’s structure distinguishes these uses.

Its job in the formula

A raised mark can be a power or an index. Its position and the surrounding notation determine which.

The passage around this formula

Gidney and Ekerå’s resource estimate makes the timing assumptions explicit rather than burying them: a planar grid with nearest-neighbour connectivity, a characteristic physical gate error rate of 10^{-3} , a surface code cycle time of 1 microsecond, and a reaction time of 10 microseconds [ 14 ] . That reaction time is the round trip from measurement to decoded decision to conditioned next gate. In their construction it is a first-class quantity in the runtime, not an implementation footnote.

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Learn the underlying idea

An exponent tells how a base is used in multiplication. In x³, x is the base and 3 is the exponent: x³ = x × x × x.

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Sources cited in the surrounding passage

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