Research Catalog

Title

Programming the universe : a quantum computer scientist takes on the cosmos / Seth Lloyd.

Author

Lloyd, Seth, 1960-

Publication

New York : Knopf, 2006.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xii, 221 p. : ill.; 25 cm.

Summary

Is the universe actually a giant quantum computer? According to Seth Lloyd--professor of quantum-mechanical engineering at MIT and originator of the first technologically feasible design for a working quantum computer--the answer is yes. This book illuminates the professional and personal paths that led him to this remarkable conclusion. All interactions between particles in the universe, Lloyd explains, convey not only energy but also information--in other words, particles not only collide, they compute. And what is the entire universe computing, ultimately? "Its own dynamical evolution," he says. "As the computation proceeds, reality unfolds." To elucidate his theory, Lloyd examines the history of the cosmos, posing questions that in other hands might seem unfathomably complex: How much information is there in the universe? What information existed at the moment of the Big Bang and what happened to it? How do quantum mechanics and chaos theory interact to create our world? Could we attempt to re-create it on a giant quantum computer?--From publisher description.

Subjects

• Microcomputers > Programming
• Quantum computers
• Quantum theory > Mathematical models

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. 219-221).

Call Number

JSE 06-932

ISBN

• 1400040922 (alk. paper)
• 1400033861 (pbk. : alk. paper)

LCCN

• 2005050408
• 9781400040926

OCLC

60515043

Author

Lloyd, Seth, 1960-

Title

Programming the universe : a quantum computer scientist takes on the cosmos / Seth Lloyd.

Imprint

New York : Knopf, 2006.

Edition

1st ed.

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (p. 219-221).

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Sample text

Other Standard Identifier

9781400040926

Research Call Number

JSE 06-932