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  • Published: 12 February 2023
  • ISBN: 9781804991183
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 304
  • RRP: $39.99

Quantum Computing from Colossus to Qubits

The History, Theory, and Application of a Revolutionary Science



Now re-issued with a new foreword, this is a fascinating introduction to the quantum computing revolution as it takes off, with huge UK investment and new breakthroughs coming thick and fast.

The revolution is here. In breakthrough after breakthrough, pioneering physicists are unlocking a new quantum universe which provides a better representation of reality than our everyday experiences and common sense ever could. The birth of quantum computers - which, like Schrödinger's famous dead-and-alive cat, rely on entities like electrons existing in a mixture of states - is starting to turn the computing world on its head.

In his fascinating study of this cutting-edge technology, John Gribbin updates his previous views on the nature of quantum reality, arguing for a universe of many parallel worlds where 'everything is real'. Looking back to Alan Turing's work on the Enigma machine and the first electronic computer, Gribbin explains how quantum theory developed to make quantum computers work in practice as well as in principle. He takes us beyond the arena of theoretical physics to explore their practical applications - from machines which learn through 'intuition' and trial and error to unhackable laptops and smartphones. And he investigates the potential for this extraordinary science to allow communication faster than light and even teleportation, as we step into a world of infinite possibility.

  • Published: 12 February 2023
  • ISBN: 9781804991183
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 304
  • RRP: $39.99

About the author

John Gribbin

John Gribbin gained a PhD from the Institute of Astronomy in Cambridge (then under the leadership of Fred Hoyle) before working as a science journalist for Nature and later New Scientist. He is the author of a number of bestselling popular science books, including In Search of Schrödinger's Cat, In Search of the Multiverse, Science: A History and The Universe: A Biography. He is a Visiting Fellow at the University of Sussex and in 2000 was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

John Gribbin is one of today's greatest writers of popular science and the author of bestselling books including In Search of Schrodinger's Cat, Stardust, Science: A History, Deep Simplicity and The Fellowship. He is famous to his many fans for making complex ideas simple, and says that his aim in his writing - much of it done with his wife Mary Gribbin - is to share his sense of wonder at the strangeness of the universe with his readers. John Gribbin trained as an astrophysicist at Cambridge University and is currently Visiting Fellow in Astronomy at the University of Sussex. He also enjoys working on science-fiction stories in his spare time, and does most of his writing in a shed in his back garden.

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