No doubt you’ve heard that “quantum is weird.” True… but learning about it is far from impossible. In fact, discovering quantum for yourself has never been easier, and many people are interested in what this science can do for us, especially in the field of quantum computing. This course is a hands-on pair of workshops to introduce you to quantum from two related but slightly different perspectives: an experimentalist in the early 1900’s discovering photons for the first time, and a theorist leveraging quantum mechanics to encrypt messages. In the experimental track, you will measure one of the most famous constants in physics: Planck’s constant, using some circuitry and a spectrophotometer. You will interpret your results in the context of Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle to measure the effect of quantum physics in our day to day lives. You will learn about - Quantum nature of light - Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle - Error analysis, statistics, and interpretations - Optical and electrical measurements In the theorist track, you will explore a quantum cryptography experiment between Alice and Bob. Alice wants to send Bob a message in a secure way using quantum mechanics. See the BB84 protocol in action and explore how quantum measurement can make communication secure. You will learn about - Quantum measurement - Superposition of quantum states - Entropy and information (loss) - Language of quantum mechanics (linear algebra, probability) We encourage students to try both tracks if time allows!