Teachers can use quantum computing as an object lesson to introduce high-level concepts. Especially for high school students, the physics behind quantum machines offers an avenue of exploration.
“We don’t talk about superposition and wave-particle duality, but we can explain how you can have a single thing that can be seen in two ways,” Franklin says. “We can talk about sporks — something that has a probability of being a spoon and a probability of being a fork. It’s a way of teaching physics concepts using everyday understanding.”
The rise of machines that leverage physics at this level can help to make the concepts real.
“It takes these theoretical, abstract math and physics concepts and gives them a practical application,” Franklin says. “It constrains the space and makes it more understandable.”
Teachers looking to get an early start can explore quantum concepts with a the free IBM Quantum Experience tool. Students can get a taste of quantum computing with the Quirk quantum computer simulator.
In the big picture, quantum computing will raise the bar in K–12 digital literacy.
“For our students, quantum technologies are in their future,” Brown says. “They will use it as scientists, and even as citizens they will have to decide what we do with these technologies. So, we want them to have an early understanding of the fundamentals.”