We report on an experiment on Grovers quantum search algorithm showing that {em classical waves} can search a $N$-item database as efficiently as quantum mechanics can. The transverse beam profile of a short laser pulse is processed iteratively as the pulse bounces back and forth between two mirrors. We directly observe the sought item being found in $simsqrt{N}$ iterations, in the form of a growing intensity peak on this profile. Although the lack of quantum entanglement limits the {em size} of our database, our results show that entanglement is neither necessary for the algorithm itself, nor for its efficiency.
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