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Computing with Quantum Cats: From Colossus to Qubits

Computing with Quantum Cats: From Colossus to Qubits

by John Gribbin
Computing with Quantum Cats: From Colossus to Qubits

Computing with Quantum Cats: From Colossus to Qubits

by John Gribbin

Overview

The quantum computer is no longer the stuff of science fiction. Pioneering physicists are on the brink of unlocking a new quantum universe which provides a better representation of reality than our everyday experiences and common sense ever could. The birth of quantum computers - which, like Schrödinger's famous "dead and alive" cat, rely on entities like electrons, photons, or atoms existing in two states at the same time - is set to turn the computing world on its head. In his fascinating study of this cutting-edge technology, and featuring a new introduction, John Gribbin explores the nature of quantum reality, arguing for a universe of many parallel worlds where "everything is real." Looking back to Alan Turing's work on the Enigma machine and the first electronic computer, Gribbin explains how quantum theory developed to make quantum computers work in practice as well as in principle. He takes us beyond the arena of theoretical physics to explore their practical applications - from machines which learn through "intuition" and trial and error to unhackable laptops and smartphones. And he investigates the potential for this extraordinary science to create a world where communication occurs faster than light and teleportation is possible. This is an exciting insider's look at the new frontier of computer science and its revolutionary implications.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781616149215
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date: 03/04/2014
Pages: 320
Product dimensions: 6.40(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

John Gribbin gained a PhD from the Institute of Astronomy in Cambridge (then under the leadership of Fred Hoyle) before working as a science journalist for Nature and later New Scientist. He is the author of a number of bestselling popular science books, including In Search of Schrödinger's Cat, In Search of the Multiverse, Science: A History, and The Universe: A Biography. He is a Visiting Fellow at the University of Sussex and in 2000 was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii

Introduction: Computing with Quantum Cats 1

Part 1 Computing

1 Turing and the Machine 9

A Child of Empire

Sherborne

Cambridge … and Princeton

Bletchley and the Bombe

The Flowering of Colossus

Anticlimax: After Bletchley

2 Von Neumann and the Machines 53

Jancsi

Johnny and the Institute

Johnny and the Bomb

The American Heritage

A German Diversion

The Second Strand

ENIAC

Von Neumann Picks Up the Ball

Self-Replicating Robots

First Interlude: Classical Limits 90

Part 2 Quanta

3 Feynman and the Quantum 99

MIT

From Princeton to Los Alamos

Schrödinger and His Equation

The Experiment with Two Holes

Integrating History

A PhD with a Principle

Cats Don't Collapse

The Gateway to Quantum Computation

Fredkin, Feynman and Friends

4 Bell and the Tangled Web 135

Dropping the Pilot

Von Neumann Gets It Wrong

Spooky Action at a Distance

Bohm Does the Impossible

From Belfast to Bohm, and Beyond

Von Neumann's Silly Mistake and Bell's Inequality

First Fruits

Closing the Loophole

Second Interlude: Quantum Limits 176

Part 3 Computing with Quanta

5 Deutsch and the Multiverse 183

Everett Sets the Scene

Solving the Measurement Problem

The Worlds of Deutsch

A Measure of Universes

The Good: Cracking Codes Conveniently

The Bad: Limits of Quantum Computation

The Ugly: Making It Work

6 Turing's Heirs and the Quantum Machines 226

The Key Criteria

Josephson and the junction

Leggett and the SQUID

Computing with SQUTDs

Corralling with Quantum Dots

The Nuclear Option

The Nuts and Bolts of NMR

Trapped Ions Take a Bow

The Teleportation

Tango

Fun with Photons

Coda: A Quantum of Discord 267

Notes 271

Sources and Further Reading 279

Picture Acknowledgments 283

Index 285

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Computers
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Quantum Physics
Computers
Science & Technology
Computers - General & Miscellaneous
Physics
Theories of Science
General & Miscellaneous Computing
Quantum Physics

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