Investigating students' fluency with quantum ideas in the context of interaction-free experiments*

This research analyzes the effectiveness of two massive open online courses (MOOCs) offered by Georgetown University via edX, Quantum Mechanics (QM) and Quantum Mechanics for Everyone (QME). The QM course was designed for undergraduate physics majors and teaches quantum mechanics using operators in a representation-independent formalism. QME was created for those without a physics background and focuses primarily on conceptual understanding. 

Here, we focus on student responses to open-ended questions within both courses that target students’ understanding of “quantum seeing in the dark” (interaction-free measurements) in the context of the Stern-Gerlach experiment and Mach Zehnder Interferometer. We present our preliminary findings around students’ conceptions of how atoms interact with the analyzers, paying particular attention to their scientific language fluency when presenting their ideas. We also present a comparison of student responses as students develop a more sophisticated understanding of interaction-free measurements.