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David Zindell's Neverness, A Requiem for Homo Sapiens and all things Science Fiction and Fantasy
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 Post subject: Quantum theory
PostPosted: Sat Aug 17, 2002 7:07 pm 
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I didn't kno if I could come up with particular viewpoints on this subject until a discussion was already underway. So I really didn't kno how 2 start this subject...Believe me I do have a lot 2 say, but mayb this quote will start something up...<b><i>Quote:</i></b> Because I was full of fear and doubt, the Entity explained how she manipulated matter through the layers of the manifold. But I understood only the smallest part of the physics, the simpilest of ideals. She had created a new mathematics to describe the warp and woof of spacetime. Her theory of interconnectedness was as beyond me as a demonstration of the different orders of infinities would be to a worm. Ages ago, of course, the mechanics had explored the paradoxes of quantum mechanics. For example, they had shown that both photons in a pair of photons are connected in fundamental ways no matter how far the two particles are separated in real space. If two photons fly away from a light source towards the opposite ends of the universe, each will 'know' certain of it's twin's attributes, such as spin and polarization, no matter how far apart they are. And they will know it instantaneously, as if each instantly 'remembered' it should be polarized horizontally, not up and down. From this discovery the mechanics theorized that it is possible to transmit information faster than light, though to their disgrace they never succeeded in doing so. But their brains are small where the Entity's is measureless. it seemed She had found a way not only to communicate but to instantaneously touch and manipulate particles across and through the reaches of space. How she did so, I still do not understand.

At the beginning of time all the particles of the universe were crushed together into a single point; all the particles were as one, in the singularity

Memory is everything. All particles remember the instant the singularity exploded and the universe was born. In that way the universe is nothing but memory.

Everything in the universe is woven of a single superluminal fabric. Tat tvam asi, That thou art.---Neverness by David Zindell I know I said I'd try 2 stay away from "The Big Bang Theory", but here it is, nonetheless... The true human being is the meaning of the universe. He is a dancing star. He is the exploding singularity with infinite possibilities. <i>Edited by: danlo60 at: 8/17/02 12:14:14 pm
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 Post subject: Re: Quantum theory
PostPosted: Thu Mar 27, 2003 2:16 pm 
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I read an article in last Sunday's paper about a new book that speculates about the combination of quantum physics with computers. I swear I will dig it up and post it here, over the weekend. Truly facsinating stuff, Captian.

I'd like 2 congratulate Damelon 4 all his hard work in this topic--in the short 2 weeks since he has bcome moderator this 4rum has jumped past 2 others (in # of posts) 2 bcome 1 of the most popular 4rums in The Vild! Good job man! And now Danlo looked in that direction, too. He remembered that snowy owls mate in the darkest part of deep winter, and so along with this beautiful white bird perched in a tree a hundred feet away, he turned to face the sea as he watched and waited.

Ahira, Ahira, he called out silently to the sky. Ahira, Ahira<i>Edited by: danlo60 at: 3/28/03 11:35:57 pm
</i>


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 Post subject: Shortcut by George Johnson
PostPosted: Fri Mar 28, 2003 5:27 am 
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Ok so I found it quicker than I should have. And now that I've had a chance 2 look at the article and other reviews in depth I realize I had a chance 2 meet this guy. George Johnson is a comp whiz and scientific writer 4 the NY Times, he lives in Santa Fe NM and is part of a think tank called The Dwan Sanctuary which is sponsored by the Armand Hammer College in Montezuma NM. My comp whiz buddy, Black Forrest, who is the head systems engineer 4 the Natl Center for Genome Resources knos George pretty well, and I just missed meeting him on 1 or 2 occasions.

Harnessing Atoms to Create Superfast Computers
By IAN FOSTER


A SHORTCUT THROUGH TIME
The Path to the Quantum Computer
By George Johnson.

George Johnson's "Shortcut Through Time" addresses one of the most
excruciatingly complex, mysterious and deeply fascinating topics in
modern science, namely quantum computing: the manipulation of quantum
states to perform computations far faster than is possible on any
conventional computer. The book's remarkable achievement is that it
makes this deeply arcane topic accessible and understandable - even, I
think, for the reader unsophisticated in physics or computing. It
opens a door to broader understanding of this important field and sets
a new standard for science writing.

I was originally reluctant to review this book. I am a computer
scientist with a guilty secret: I've never really understood quantum
computing. How could I write a review without revealing my ignorance?

However, as I began the preface, I became intrigued and then
excited. Mr. Johnson, a contributing science writer for The New York
Times, says he wrote the book not to profile the personalities in the
field, but to lead the reader toward a tentative understanding of
quantum computing. To take the reader along as he, the writer, strains
"to grasp an idea with an imprecise metaphor, only to discard it for
another with a tighter fit, closing in on an airy notion from several
directions, triangulating on approximate truth." And: "I want the
reader to feel that we are both on the same side - outsiders seeking a
foothold on the slippery granite face of a new idea."

I was hooked. So much of what passes for science writing nowadays is
really human-interest journalism, focused on the quirks and conflicts
of science's eccentric personalities, and is only incidentally
concerned with science itself. Yet here was someone who proposed to
take a problem at the forefront of science and address it on its own
terms. Perhaps my ignorance was a virtue: I could serve as an
experimental subject, reading the book and reporting on whether I
arrived at the promised land.

Approached from this perspective, the book took on the allure of a
good mystery. Mr. Johnson, like a seasoned crime writer, sets the
scene and then introduces a series of increasingly intriguing
metaphors, each of which unveils another aspect of Q.C., as I'll call
it. As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that Q.C.'s secret could be
revealed at the turn of any page. For me, the initial forays covered
familiar ground. But Mr. Johnson soon entered unfamiliar territory,
exploring the mysteries of superposition and entanglement.

Along the way, we discover that we are dealing not with an obscure and
eccentric academic curiosity, but with a dangerous character. (In
addition to mystery, we have drama!) Q.C., it has been shown in the
last few years, could defeat some of the fundamental codes that secure
many electronic communications. The security of these public key
cryptography mechanisms relies on the fact that on even the fastest
computers, performing a particular computation - factoring, or
breaking into their constituent pieces, large numbers - takes an
unimaginably long time. Yet in 1994 Peter Shor, a mathematician,
showed how Q.C. could do this same operation much faster - in a few
minutes. Q.C. could provide a shortcut through time.

Just why this is possible is at the heart of this concise but dense
book. The particulars depend on the clever manipulations of two
fundamental properties of the quantum world - superposition and
entanglement. Superposition lets a single quantum switch be on and off
at the same time; entanglement allows the state of one quantum switch
to be linked with that of another. Set up just right, a collection of
such quantum switches can, in principle, be used to build a computer
that manipulates many numbers at once - transforming millions of
numbers in one step, or, via mind-numbingly complex manipulations,
factoring the numbers that support our financial and national
security.

Fortunately for those who use codes to maintain secrets, we also learn
that Q.C. does not exist yet, at least not in a useful form. As
Mr. Johnson notes, the world record for building a quantum computer
involves just seven qubits (quantum switches, pronounced like the word
cubits) operating for less than a second. A quantum computer with
several thousand qubits and able to run for hours is not expected
anytime soon. The problems involved in scaling up are complex and hard
to resolve. They relate to the tendency of superposed quantum states
to collapse to a single value - either on or off - when the real world
impinges.

"A Shortcut Through Time" is not all metaphor. It also touches on the
history of this young field, noting a prescient paper by the physicist
Richard P. Feynman, who postulated in 1982 that quantum computing
might be possible. (Also mentioned is the independent work by a less
famous but just as visionary physicist, Paul Benioff, formerly of the
Argonne National Laboratory.) But what makes this book a delight and a
rare gem of science writing is the science itself, and Mr. Johnson's
engagement with that science. He promises that he is not going to
cheat by implying omniscience with his subject), and he does not. The
result is fascinating and tremendously engaging.

After all this, you may be wondering whether I now understand quantum
computing. Well, there are some who argue that quantum physics is so
foreign to human experience that no one can truly understand it, only
manipulate its mathematical rules. Mr. Johnson does not use
mathematics and he skips many details. ("We are operating here on a
need-to-know basis," he states.) But I found that with him at my side,
I could reach that delicate mental state that feels like
understanding. Now this state, like a quantum superposition, may
collapse to ignorance when I try to explain it to someone, but in the
meantime, I feel less guilty.

Ian Foster is a senior scientist at Argonne National Laboratory and a
professor of computer science at the University of Chicago.

And now Danlo looked in that direction, too. He remembered that snowy owls mate in the darkest part of deep winter, and so along with this beautiful white bird perched in a tree a hundred feet away, he turned to face the sea as he watched and waited.

Ahira, Ahira, he called out silently to the sky. Ahira, Ahira<i></i>


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 Post subject: Re: Quantum theory
PostPosted: Sat Mar 29, 2003 1:57 am 
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Thanks Danlo for the kind words. I intend, once I get some time away from work, to start a couple of other topics and get this forum a rockin.

I was going to answer your first post yesterday night, but I got sidetracked. I'm glad u found the article. I had heard of quantum mechanics being involved in some super form of encription, but not as a code breaker. Very interesting. <i></i>


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