The Feynman Processor: Quantum Entanglement And The Computing Revolution (Frontiers of Science

by Gerard J. Milburn

Quantum computing, the reduction of computing elements to sizes far smaller than that of present-day chips, down to the size of individual atoms, presents new problems, problems on the quantum level. But thanks to new discoveries by Gerard Milburn and other cutting-edge scientists, quantum computing is about to become a reality.In this book, the first one for the general public to explain the scientific ideas behind concepts seen before only in science fiction, physicist Milburn brings us the exciting world of phenomena of entanglement, where particles can be in two places at the same time, where matter on the quantum level can be teleported à la Star Trek's famous Transporter; and where cryptographers can construct fundamentally unbreakable computer codes.Although other books and magazine articles have dealt with some of the subjects in this book, this is the first book for the layman to deal specifically with quantum computing, an area pioneered by the great physicist Richard Feynman, who first posed the challenge to scientists to devise the smallest, fastest computer elements, to take us to the absolute physical limits of computers. This book promises to both astound and educate every reader eager to keep abreast of the latest breakthroughs in physics and computers.

Genres: Science, Physics, Computer Science, Nonfiction

213 pages, Hardcover

First published September 9, 1998

About the author

Gerard Milburn obtained a PhD in theoretical Physics from the University of Waikato in 1982 for work on squeezed states of light and quantum nondemolition measurements. He is currently an Australian Research Council Federation Fellow at the University of Queensland and Director of the new Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Engineered Quantum Systems. Gerard Milburn is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and The American Physical Society.

He has worked in the fields of quantum optics, quantum measurement and stochastic processes, atom optics , quantum chaos, mesoscopic electronics, quantum information and quantum computation, and most recently in quantum nanomechanics and superconducting circuit QED. He has published over 200 papers in international journals, with over 10,000 citations, and h index of 53. He has published four books. Together with Dan Walls he published one of the first texts on Quantum Optics (Springer 1994), recently updated with a new edition (Springer, 2008), and two non technical books on quantum technology and quantum computing (Schroedinger's Machines, Allen and Unwin, 1996; The Feynman Processor, Allen and Unwin 1998). A new book "Quantum measurement and Control" with Howard Wiseman, was recently published by Cambridge University Press.

http://www.smp.uq.edu.au/node/106/19

Reviews

[Peter]

Decent bridge between quantum mechanics and computer science: Is meant to be for the lay-person, but unfortunately Milburn isn't as good at exhaustively explaining the bizarre world of the quantum as, say, a John Griffin. This book is more for people with some understanding of both computer science and quantum mechanics, as this is a nice explanation of where they converge. You can't quickly gloss over both disciplines and expect to have your readers understand them, but that's what Milburn tries to do. However, for what I needed, it delivered.

[Ken Van Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are interested in where computing is going, and want to gain a fundamental understanding of the potential future impact of quantum physics on your life, get this book.

[Behrooz Parhami · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book combines a description of quantum physics with an introduction to computer science., in the following 6 chapters, followed by a 3-page epilogue:

- The Quantum Principle (pp. 1-37)

- Quantum Entanglement (pp. 38-71)

- Teleportation for Gamblers (pp. 72-91)

- Reality, by Nintendo (pp. 92-118)

- Quantum Software (pp. 119-170)

- The Dream Machine (pp. 171-191)

Physicist Richard Feynman postulated in 1982 that to simulate quantum systems, you may be forced to build quantum computers. From the early-1980s germ of an idea (attributed to Paul Benioff, Yuri Manin, Richard Feynman, and David Deutsch), interest in quantum computing picked up, reaching a fever pitch in the 1990s with the development of quantum algorithms and quantum computational complexity results. Seminars, workshops, and experimental demos of quantum devices & algorithms proliferated in the late-1990s. When I chanced upon this 1998 book, I decided it may be a fun read about the excitement, as quantum computing emerged from the shadows and became a subject for dinner-table conversations and media reporting.

The book falls short in its twin goals of providing a layman's introduction to the main ideas of quantum physics and their computing implications. My recommendations for gaining an understanding of quantum computing are as follows:

- Bernhardt, Chris, Quantum Computing for Everyone, 216 pp., MIT Press, 2020.

- LaPierre, Ray, Introduction to Quantum Computing, 382 pp., Springer, 2021.

We have not only discovered more about quantum computing over the past 2+ decades, we have also learned how to better explain the ideas to non-specialists.

[Jorgen Peterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got my toes wet

[John Laney · Rating 4 out of 5]

A crash course in quantum mechanics. If you've ever wondered about physics this is a great abbreviated introduction.