Moore’s Law hasn’t exactly made it easy for computer hardware developers with the observation that transistor counts on integrated circuits doubles approximately every two years, but it has helped to fuel the massive increases we’ve seen in processing over the years. However, it has left the industry to look to ever smaller building blocks to its circuitry, but it’s getting closer and closer to an impasse that only quantum computing can solve and it this area of development that John Gribbin has turned to with his book, Computing With Quantum Cats: From Colossus to Qubits.
While the hardback edition of the book was released in June last year (2013), the paperback has now been confirmed for the 3rd July 2014, so if you’re more of a page folding computer science geek then this could be a good read. If you’re looking to find out more about the next big technological leap forward, this would be a very good starting point as it will massively ramp up the development of digital processing in electronic devices that we use every day, as well as the more advanced tech needed to fuel industry and further scientific study.
According to the synopsis, quantum computing is no longer the thing of sci-fi imagination as physicists are on the verge of unlocking the possibilities of quantum level mechanics to fuel the ongoing processing growth in computer technology and to continue the trend of Moore’s Law. Although, it’s not just the future of computer technology that Gribbin turns to as he also traces the history back to the origins of modern day computing in Alan Turing’s Enigma Machine and the first electronic computer to fire up its mainframe, Colossus.
Gribbin’s views on the nature of quantum mechanics are brought to bear in the construct of quantum computing technology to explain the science behind what will soon become a reality, while also charting the scientific studies that have led to its development and the implications for other areas of quantum theory and understanding. His overarching premise is that the interactions that take place at the quantum level are a better representation of reality than our own macro experiences of physics, which highlights the importance he places on quantum understanding and scientific breakthrough.
The quantum computing that forms the centre of the book relies on the manipulation of electrons, photons and atoms that exist in two states at the same time to deliver the processing revolution that could be on our doorsteps in the next few years or so. However, in Computing With Quantum Cats, Gribbin also turns to the more extreme possibilities of quantum theory as he covers everything from processing that could become faster than the speed of light, parallel worlds and teleportation, which sounds like it’s going to be pretty impressive reading.
In addition to the more contentious, boundary challenging theories, the book will also rifle through the wealth of modern day examples of advanced computing in action. For example, It gives us an insight into the computer than can learn through intuition, trial and error, as well as laptops and mobile phones that have been built to be un-hackable, so expect a good mix of theoretical discussion and practical realities from the book, which we’re looking forward to a lot.
