English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Global: Zendy Plus annual

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Global: Zendy Plus monthly

Global: Zendy Tools annual

Global: Zendy Tools monthly

Global: Zendy Free Plan

Balance (Counterfeit coin) puzzles have been part of recreational mathematicsfor a few decades. A particular type of Counterfeit coin puzzle is known in theliterature as the "Beam balance puzzle". An abstract solution to it is providedby Iwama et.al as a modification of the Bernstein-Vazirani algorithm, makinguse of quantum parallelism and entanglement. Moreover, during this pandemic,group testing has proved to be an efficient algorithm to save time and cost oftesting specimens for the presence of infection. In this article, we propose a"Binary Spring Balance" (BSB) puzzle, to facilitate a unified picture of thecounterfeit coin problem and the testing for infection problem, as both aim toreduce the number of queries. We then showcase two solutions to the BSBproblem, one using bits and other using classical-qubits ('cebits") forquerying. Both solutions are demonstrated using circuits. In this pursuit, wedevelop a modified optical implementation of Bernstein-Vazirani algorithm usingonly polarizers (no need of beam splitters), which has surprisingly not yetbeen proposed earlier. Under the pretext of this demonstration we question whywe have not yet developed testing mechanisms inspired by Bernstein-Vaziranialgorithm for the pandemic, as they solve the problem in single query, theyhave no issues related to prevalence of infection in the population, nor arethey plagued by the issue of dilution of samples due to pooling. The modifiedimplementation of Bernstein-Vazirani algorithm using polarizers can also be acost-effective demonstration in an undergraduate lab.

A unified picture of Balance puzzles and Group testing: Some lessons from quantum mechanics for the pandemic