  As a result of the capabilities of quantum information, the science of
quantum information processing is now a prospering, interdisciplinary field
focused on better understanding the possibilities and limitations of the
underlying theory, on developing new applications of quantum information and on
physically realizing controllable quantum devices. The purpose of this primer
is to provide an elementary introduction to quantum information processing, and
then to briefly explain how we hope to exploit the advantages of quantum
information. These two sections can be read independently. For reference, we
have included a glossary of the main terms of quantum information.
