Quest for the Quantum Computer - Softcover

Brown, Julian

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0684870045 ISBN 13: 9780684870045

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2001

Synopsis

Taking readers to the cutting edge of physics, mathematics, and computer science, Julian Brown tells the dramatic story of the groundbreaking efforts to create a fundamentally new kind of computer that would be astronomically more powerful than today's machines. In 1998, a team of researchers announced they had produced the world's first quantum computer in a cup of chloroform. In fascinating, fully accessible detail, Brown explains the ideas that led up to this accomplishment and explores the mind-stretching implications of this leap into the bizarre world of quantum physics. The Quest for the Quantum Computer is a riveting look at what promises to be one of the most important scientific and technological ideas of the twenty-first century.

About this title

Review

Just how smart can computers get? Science journalist Julian Brown takes a hard look at the spooky world of quantum computation in Minds, Machines, and the Multiverse--and his report is optimistic. Based in large part on the groundbreaking work of David Deutsch, the book mostly sidesteps the shouting matches of the AI debate and instead explores the history of computation and quantum theory before turning to the exciting advances likely to come out of their merger. While some readers might cringe at the blithe dismissal of classical computing as a relic, Brown shows us why quantum computing is faster and more powerful, and is a good candidate for replacing its predecessor.

The author doesn't pull any mathematical punches, but injects enough humor and personalization into his writing to keep the book from crumbling to dust. Indeed, portraits of such luminaries as Deutsch and Feynman are more engaging than those found in some biographies and are enlightening on their own. But the real power and charm of Brown's prose lie in its straightforward explanation of the arcane details of the multiple-worlds theory, "qubits," and quantum logic in language any informed reader can understand. There are more questions than answers in Minds, Machines, and the Multiverse, but the questions are profoundly satisfying all by themselves. --Rob Lightner

About the Author

Julian Brown is a science journalist who specializes in physics and computers. He has written extensively about quantum physics for New Scientist magazine, and is the coeditor of The Ghost in the Atom and Superstrings: A Theory of Everything? He lives in San Francisco, California.

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0684870045
• ISBN 13: 9780684870045
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 400