The Bit and the Pendulum: From Quantum Computing to M Theory--The New Physics of Information

by Tom Siegfried

Book Overview

Funny, clear, deep, and right on target. Siegfried] lets us get a handle on ideas that are essential for understanding the evolving world.
-K. C. Cole, author of The Universe and the Teacup
"An eager, ambitious book. A stimulating, accessible introduction to scientific theory."
-Dallas Morning News
An award-winning journalist surveys the horizon of a new revolution in science
Everything in the universe, from the molecules in our bodies...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0471399744
• ISBN13: 9780471399742
• Release Date: December 2000
• Publisher: Trade Paper Press
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.86 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.1" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

D-Wave , Hamiltonian, Eigenvalues , EigenVectors , Energy relaxation

1. A pure proton can be teleported. A single measurement instantly determines the spin of two photons. The photons are separated by distance. 2. Quantum message have been passed by optical fiber capable. 3. Quantum Cryptograph will allow point-to-point communication with no possibility of eavesdropping. "What quantum cryptography can do is allow the two parties to agree on the random secret without ever meeting or without ever exchanging a material object." 4. In 1997, Los Alamos Laboratory reported they had transmitted quantum coded messages between two computers through 48 kilometers of underground optical fiber. 5. Quantum information theory may someday be useful in building a new computer. 6. The computer has become a metaphor for scientific worldview based on information. 7. Information is physical. Edward Fredkin thinks the universe is a computer. Frekin says, a computer running too create our Universe cannot be in our Universe. Furthermore, Fredkins adds, "the machine is not in our world." Many scientists do not think information is abstract or tangible (matter and energy), but information is something physical. 8. Information is an essential concept for describing the world. Information is everywhere. All technologies exploit the reality of information. Computers help understand the complexity of the Universe. 9. Shannon showed that sending a bit of information over a telephone line required a minimum amount of energy, roughly the amount of energy possessed by a typical molecule bouncing around at room temperature. Entropy equivalent. Computing requires an unavoidable loss of energy at every computational step. 10. An ideal computing system could manipulate information while creating no heat waste. The computer produces answers and forgets about the inputs. Maybe, a computer could compute without using up energy, if it did not throw away information along the way. Throwing away information requires a loss of energy. Bennet proposed that it is possible to compute without throwing away information. If all the steps in the process could be reversed, then all the information could be derived. In 1973, Bennet worked out how to design hardware for reversible computing. 11. Ralph Merkle, said, "Reversible logic will dominate computing in the 21st century." Reversible computing will reduce computer energy drain on supply, extend laptop battery life, helping chips from overheating, and allow more circuitry to be embedded on a chip. 12. Reversible computing illustrates how important it is to take the reality of information into account when design computers. 13. Brian Schumacher introduced the idea of qubits to measure quantum information. 14. Quantum computing was inspired by the search for understanding more about the physical nature of information. 15. Feynman said, "If you want to make a simulation of nature, you'd better make it quantum mechanical." 16. Seth Lloyd presented a proof of Feynman's original conjecture that a qua

Physics with a kick!

The book it is more of a journalistic review than a scientific primer. However, the author does a magnificent job at explaining difficult concepts of cutting-edge physics in an easy to understand manner. I like this book because of its depth and at the same time keeping coherence and organization, something not many scientific books can brag about. This is the layman's version of today and tomorrow's physics and their significance. Read it and enjoy!

The Frontiers of Info Science at its Weird & Wonderful Best!

In this ground-breaking book, acclaimed science journalist Tom Siegfried introduces readers to the frontiers of the radical new physics of information, and to the host of amazing discoveries it is inspiring-from the development of a stunning new breed of quantum computers, to methods for writing supersecure codes, to revealing insights into the elaborate computer-like workings of the cell and resolving long-standing mysteries about the inner workings of black holes and how the universe evolved.The revolutionary insight central to all of this new science is that the most fundamental constituents of matter are not atoms, or even subatomic particles, but "bits," the fundamental units of information. Scientists are exploring an all-encompassing new path towards understanding life, physics, and existence. The path leads through all of nature, from the interior of cells to inside black holes. The conclusion is always the same: the world is made of information.Siegfried provides lucid and entertaining explanations of the latest theories in quantum physics and how they are being applied by quantum cryptographers to create secret codes that are absolutely unbreakable. We learn how the mind-boggling physics of "reversible logic" can recapture lost information and are introduced to the controversy over M Theory, which some scientists argue is the long-sought "Theory of Everything."This books offers the lay reader an engaging, fast-paced introduction to a fundamentally new way of seeing the world and an amazing glimpse into many of the hottest areas of scientific endeavour today.Tom Siegfried is the science editor of the Dallas Morning News. He is the recipient of the American Association for the Advancement of Science's Westinghouse Award for science journalism.

Great Inspiring Book

Information is Physical. It is difficult to imagine this at once but Tom Siegfried in his wonderfully written book clearly explains to the reader that information is something fundamentally different than just simple combination of symbols 1 and 0. And information is as fundamental category as matter and energy. Which brings about the conclusion that universe is created not only from the matter and energy but also from information. The global meaning of this conclusion is stunning. Our civilization makes only first steps on its journey of developing the information technologies, but we all can already truly appreciate what information tools can do to our life. So imagine the power we can gain over the universe when the ideas so cleverly explained by the author in this book develop further and become technical devices. This is the front line of the modern physics, and to the advantage of his readers the author skillfully represented the complex theories in easily understandable language.