Illustrating quantum information with quantum candies
Junan Lin, Tal Mor, Roman Shapira
Abstract
The field of information is becoming more known to the general public. However, effectively demonstrating the concepts underneath science and technology to the general public can be a challenging job. We investigate, extend, and much expand here quantum (invented by Jacobs), a pedagogical model for intuitively describing some basic concepts in information, including bits, complementarity, the no-cloning principle, and entanglement. Following Jacob's candies description of the well-known key distribution protocol BB84, we explicitly demonstrate various additional cryptography protocols using candies in an approachable manner. The model we investigate can be a valuable tool for science and engineering educators who would like to help the general public to gain more insights into science and technology: most parts of this paper, including many protocols for cryptography, are expected to be easily understandable by a layperson without any previous knowledge of mathematics, physics, or cryptography.