Quantum computing has generated considerable excitement in the media, and even introductory students may wish to delve into this hot topic.1 Grover’s search algorithm, sometimes called a “killer app”2 of quantum computing, is typically taught with the full machinery of linear algebra: inner products, outer products, and summation notation. We avoid these abstractions and present the essence of Grover’s algorithm at a level appropriate for introductory physics students. No background in quantum mechanics is required. Students can design and run their own circuits on remote quantum processors, for free, via the IBM Quantum website.3 

As an example of the kind of problem that Grover’s algorithm can solve, consider a digital memory circuit that stores one million bits of data; each bit is 0 or 1. Each bit is stored at a different physical location in the memory circuit. Each of these locations is specified by a...
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