A Shortcut Through Time: The Path to A Quantum Computer - Softcover

Johnson, George

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0099452170 ISBN 13: 9780099452171

Publisher: Vintage, 2004

Synopsis

The newest Pentium chip powering PCs and laptops contains 40 million electronic switches packed onto a piece of silicon about the size of a thumbnail. Several years from now, if this incredible shrinking continues, a single chip will hold a billion switches, then a trillion. The logical culmination is a computer in which the switches are so tiny that each consists of an individual atom. At that point something miraculous happens: quantum mechanics kick in.

Anyone who follows the science news or watches 'Star Trek' has at least a notion of what that means: particles can be in two or more places at once. Atoms obey a peculiar logic of their own - and if it can be harnessed society will be transformed. Problems that would now take forever would be solved almost instantly. Quantum computing promises nothing less than a shortcut through time.

About this title

Review:

"Fascinating and highly accessible... Unpicking the complexities of the subject is not easy, but Johnson has done a fine job of it... [An] excellent book" (Scotland on Sunday)

"Lucid and accessible... [Written with] a beguiling combination of clarity and enthusiasm" (New Scientist)

"Johnson is one of the best science journalists writing today" (Scientific American)

Book Description:

'Highly recommended... when the revolution comes don't say no one warned you' - Scotland on Sunday

About this edition

• Publisher: Vintage
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0099452170
• ISBN 13: 9780099452171
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224