Last week I stumbled upon a new quantum computing book, Quantum Computing for Computer Architects
In SFO airport the other day I was browing the science section of a bookstore when I came across Punk Science
Punk Science demonstrates that ideas from the cutting-edge of science actually explain phenomena that have previously been thought of as paranormal. Dr. Samanta-Laughton offers a new model of the universe, where consciousness generates life, where black holes exist inside our bodies as well as far out in space, and where the same science explains galaxies and planets as well as human evolution, auras and chakras. Drawing on the very latest in scientific understanding, the Black Hole principle outlined by [sic] in this book, represents the next leap forward in both human understanding and living, and gives a closer approximation to scientific reality than the macho-approach of the old-style physics.
Doh, radical indeed.
Oh, and commentor Perry notes that quantum computers feature in a new mystery novel, Simple Genius
A recent novel Brasyl by Ian McDonald also features (illegal) quantum computing.
Quantum computation is also mentioned in
* Dante’s Equation by Jane Jensen
* Quarantine by Greg Egan
Here’s the relevant section:
SESSION 9: QUANTUM COMPUTING
Chair: Matthew Farrens, University of California-Davis
Distributed Arithmetic on a Quantum Multicomputer
Rodney Van Meter, Keio University
W. J. Munro, HP Labs
Kae Nemoto, NII
Kohei M. Itoh, Keio University
Interconnection Networks for Scalable Quantum Computers
Nemanja Isailovic, UC Berkeley
Yatish Patel, UC Berkeley
Mark Whitney, UC Berkeley
John Kubiatowicz, UC Berkeley
Quantum Memory Hierarchies: Efficient Designs to Match Available Parallelism in Quantum Computing
Darshan D. Thaker, UC Davis
Tzvetan S. Metodi, UC Davis
Andrew W. Cross, MIT
Isaac L. Chuang, MIT
Frederic T. Chong, UC Santa Barbara
The Metodi/Chong book is also freely downloadable, from the publisher’s website http://www.morganclaypool.com/doi/abs/10.2200/S00066ED1V01Y200610CAC001
Sorry about the lost formatting above.
No it’s the fault of my software. I should really fix that… 🙁
Yup, we architects are movin’ in!
Collectively, architects (one of the best of whom you work with) and real-world networkers have had quantum papers in ISCA, JETC, IEEE Transactions on Computers, SIGCOMM, ASPLOS, IEEE Computer…get used to it. You may have to look a little farther than the arXiv to find what you’re looking for.
Don’t expect us to be patient, either, I want to build a working quantum computer YESTERDAY :-). None of this talk of “maybe in twenty years, maybe never”, expect the engineers to come beat down your doors and rip the technology from your hands and BUILD something with it!!!
Okay, all of that’s a little extreme (okay, a lot extreme), but it is true that we will approach the problem differently, especially in worrying about and structuring large-scale systems, and that we are likely to identify and solve problems that may seem to physicists (both experimentalists and theorists) to be less than immediately pressing. We will almost certainly try to build larger-scale systems that you think the technology is ready for :-).
It’s also inevitable that we won’t understand the physics as deeply as you do, or at least not in the same way. The question is, do we understand it well enough to build something with it?
If you’re tracking pop lit references to QC, add “Eden”, the manga by Endo. One panel says, “A quantum computer becomes necessary.” I scanned it and use it in some of my presentations (oops, did I just blow my best laugh-getter?).
Metodi, btw, goes by Setso, which is easier to pronounce. I believe he’s due to graduate from UC-Davis momentarily, not sure of his post-graduation plans.
btw, congrats on your marriage to Sophia.
And, FYI, your Google ads popped up the following rather startling page:
http://lightisreal.com/quantumphysics.html
I’m not sure I could do better if I tried. Where are the Weekly World News and the Onion when you need them?
Although it’s certainly true that I “want to know how to use quantum principles to create the life of [my] dreams!”
I am the publisher of the book that Dave mentions, Quantum Computing for Computer Architects. It is a part of a new publishing project, the Synthesis Digital Library of Engineering and Computer Science, that publishes concise updatable state of the art presentations on research topics in about 30 areas. If your institution subscribes (see http://www.morganclaypool.com/page/licensed for a list) you can freely download the pdf, assign it for classes, etc. Otherwise you can buy a download from our site for $30 or a paperback print copy from us at https://secure.aidcvt.com/mcp/ProdDetails.asp?ID=9781598291186&PG=1&Type=RLMa&PCS=MCP or on Amazon. We are starting a series in quantum computing and hope to have a stream of interesting titles in the future.