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

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 to the heart of a black hole, is made up of bits of information. This is the radical idea at the center of the new physics of information, and it is leading to exciting breakthroughs in a vast range of science, including the invention of a new kind of quantum computer, millions of times faster than any computer today. Acclaimed science writer Tom Siegfried offers a lively introduction to the leading scientists and ideas responsible for this exciting new scientific paradigm.

"An eager, ambitious book. A stimulating, accessible introduction to scientific theory."--Dallas Morning News "An enjoyably quick-paced interdisciplinary survey of the outer limits of scientific thought."--Kirkus Reviews

"Siegfried weaves a provocative and convincing argument. . . . Recommended for an informed audience."--Library Journal "An excellent introduction to the myriad small worlds that can be teased out of our big one."--Publishers Weekly

"A volume of remarkable sweep."--Booklist

Now in paperback, The Bit and the Pendulum explores the radical idea at the center of the new physics of information: everything in the universe, from the molecules in our bodies to the heart of a black hole, is made up of bits of information.Award-winning author Tom Siegfried interviews top scientists-all using "bits" to solve the seemingly unsolvable-and provides a highly accessible introduction to a fundamentally new way of seeing the world. Lively, engaging, and topical, The Bit and the Pendulum shows how the computer and the "bit" are revealing secrets of the brain, the nature of matter, and the workings of the universe.