TY - JOUR
T1 - Explaining Grover's algorithm with a colony of ants: a pedagogical model for making quantum technology comprehensible
AU - Schalkers, M.A.
AU - Dankers, K.T.
AU - Wimmer, M.T.
AU - Vermaas, P.E.
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - The rapid growth of quantum technologies requires an increasing number of physicists, computer scientists, and engineers who can work on these technologies. For educating these professionals, quantum mechanics should stop being perceived as incomprehensible. In this paper we contribute to this change by presenting a pedagogical model for explaining Grover's search algorithm, a prominent quantum algorithm. This model visualizes the three main steps of Grover's algorithm and, in addition to explaining the algorithm itself, introduces three key principles of quantum mechanics: superposition, interference, and state collapse at measurement. The pedagogical model, visualized by a video, is called the ant colony maze model. It represents the search problems as finding the exit of a maze, and visualizes Grover's search algorithm as a strategy by which a colony of ants finds that exit.
AB - The rapid growth of quantum technologies requires an increasing number of physicists, computer scientists, and engineers who can work on these technologies. For educating these professionals, quantum mechanics should stop being perceived as incomprehensible. In this paper we contribute to this change by presenting a pedagogical model for explaining Grover's search algorithm, a prominent quantum algorithm. This model visualizes the three main steps of Grover's algorithm and, in addition to explaining the algorithm itself, introduces three key principles of quantum mechanics: superposition, interference, and state collapse at measurement. The pedagogical model, visualized by a video, is called the ant colony maze model. It represents the search problems as finding the exit of a maze, and visualizes Grover's search algorithm as a strategy by which a colony of ants finds that exit.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85187387581&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1088/1361-6552/ad2976
DO - 10.1088/1361-6552/ad2976
M3 - Article
SN - 0031-9120
VL - 59
JO - Physics Education
JF - Physics Education
IS - 3
M1 - 035003
ER -