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

Siegfried, Tom

ISBN 10: 0471321745 / ISBN 13: 9780471321743

Editore: John Wiley & Sons, Inc, New York, 2000

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vi, 281. [1] pages. Illustrations. Notes. Glossary. Further Reading. Index. Inscribed by the author on fep. The inscription reads For Phil, Read this quick before it becomes old news. Tom Siegfried. Compliments bookplate on fep. Ink notations inside cover and on fep (front and back). Some ink underling and notations to text noted. Tom Siegfried was editor in chief of Science News from 2007 to 2012, and he was the managing editor from 2014 to 2017. In addition to Science News, his work has appeared in Science, Nature, Astronomy, New Scientist and Smithsonian. Previously he was the science editor of The Dallas Morning News. He is the author of three books: The Bit and the Pendulum; Strange Matters; and A Beautiful Math. Tom earned an undergraduate degree from Texas Christian University and has a master of arts with a major in journalism and a minor in physics from the University of Texas at Austin. His awards include the American Geophysical Union's Robert C. Cowen Award for Sustained Achievement in Science Journalism,and the AAAS Westinghouse Award. 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. Derived from a Kirkus review: The computer has, in the information age, developed into a powerful metaphor for understanding the universe. In a straightforward, often whimsical exposition of new revelations in computer science, theoretical physics, molecular biology, and the developing science of consciousness, Many computer functions, Siegfried asserts, including the binary coding with which computers calculate and the manner in which computers produce outputs from inputs according to pre-programmed mathematical rules, find analogues in nature. Siegfried hurtles from cell analysis to Boolean logic to quantum mechanics to the theory of black holes to make his point. He contends, the computer has become such a powerful symbol for the universe that scientists are in danger of mistaking the metaphor for nature itself: The computer has become as all-encompassing a model as Newton s clock, Siegfried concludes, but it may be no better able to explain everything in nature.

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Dati bibliografici

• Titolo: The Bit and the Pendulum; From Quantum Computing to M Theory--The New Physics of Information
• Editore: John Wiley & Sons, Inc, New York
• Data di pubblicazione: 2000
• Lingua: Inglese
• ISBN 10: 0471321745
• ISBN 13: 9780471321743
• Rilegatura: Hardcover
• Disegnatore: Lanny Provo (Jacket Photo)
• Edizione: First Printing [Stated].
• Condizione: Good
• Condizione della sovraccoperta: Very good
• Firmato: Autografato dall'autore

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Riassunto

"Funny, clear, deep, and right on target, Tom Siegfrieds The Bit and the Pendulum is a friendly guide to a profound revolution now taking place on the forefront of science. From the horizons of black holes to the inner recesses of the human brain, bits are us and everything else too. Taking a lighthearted approach to weighty ideas, Siegfried takes us into the tangled web of quantum teleportation, curled up extra dimensions of space and time, and the wetware of computational cells. He 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

Is all life made up of yes-no, heads-tails decisions? Is the computer, with its binary 0–1 "bits" of information, our best model yet for describing the universe? Acclaimed science writer Tom Siegfried offers a fascinating introduction to the hot new physics of information. The Bit and the Pendulum takes us on a thrilling journey from quantum teleportation, to DNA computing, to the insides of black holes and other cosmological puzzles. Siegfried interviews top scientists biologists working with the mathematics of DNA, quantum physicists studying quantum cryptography, and neuroscientists mapping the mysterious workings of the brain all using the mysteries of information science to solve the seemingly unsolvable. 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.

Informazioni sull?autore

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.