Quantum Basics
This principle states you cannot know a particle’s position and momentum with perfect precision (at the same time).
What is the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle?
This Austrian thought experiment features a cat that is both alive and dead.
What is Schrödinger’s cat?
The squared magnitude of this quantity equals the probability density.
What is the wavefunction?
These quantum bits can be in a 0, 1, or superposition.
What are qubits?
Two particles remain connected so that measuring one instantly affects the other.
What is entanglement?
A system is in this when it exists in multiple states at once before measurement.
What is superposition?
This device splits spin -½ particles into two beams: spin-up and spin-down.
What is the Stern–Gerlach apparatus?
This constant (symbol ℏ) equals h/2π.
What is the Planck constant?
This machine uses Josephson junctions and superconducting circuits to compute with qubits.
What is a superconducting quantum computer?
The act of measuring a quantum system does this to its wavefunction.
What is collapse?
In bra-ket notation, how is a vector written?
|ψ⟩ OR ⟨ψ|
This experiment uses two mirrors and interference to detect tiny changes in length (like gravitational waves).
What is a Michelson interferometer?
This is a geometrical representation of the pure state space of a two-level quantum mechanical system (qubit), named after the physicist Felix _____
What is the Bloch Sphere
This protocol allows two parties to share a secret key with quantum security.
What is quantum key distribution (QKD)?
This phenomenon allows particles to pass through energy barriers they classically shouldn’t cross.
What is quantum tunneling?
This experiment demonstrated the wave–particle duality of electrons.
What is the double-slit experiment?
This 2015 set of experiments confirmed quantum entanglement by closing major loopholes.
What are Bell test experiments?
The time-independent Schrödinger equation is an eigenvalue equation for this operator.
What is the Hamiltonian?
These fragile quantum states collapse when measured, causing challenges in error correction.
What are entangled states / superpositions?
This interpretation claims that every quantum event splits the universe into branches.
What is the Many-Worlds Interpretation?
This type of operator always has real eigenvalues and represents an observable (also real) quantity.
What is a Hermitian operator?
John Bell’s inequality tests helped disprove this hidden-variable model proposed by Einstein.
What is local realism?
Schrodinger's equation is equivalent to what mathematical representation that Heisenberg came up with?
What is Matrix Mechanics?
This phenomenon allows quantum computers to factor numbers exponentially faster than classical ones.
What is Shor’s algorithm?
This “no-go” theorem proves you cannot assign definite values to quantum observables before measurement.
What is the Kochen–Specker theorem?