Programming The Universe
Author: Lloyd, Seth
ISBN: 9780099455370
Publisher: RANDOM HOUSE UK
Year first published: 01 Jun 2007
Pages: 256
Format: Paperback / softback
A hugely important book about one of the hottest topics in science - the extent to which the universe functions as a giant computer.
IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE BIT...
The universe is made of bits of information and it has been known for more than a century that every piece of the the universe - every electron, atom and molecule - registers these bits and that information. It is only in the last years, however, with the discovery and development of quantum computers, that scientists have gained a fundamental understanding of just how that information is registered and processed.
Building on recent breakthroughs in quantum computation, Seth Lloyd shows how the universe itself is a giant computer. Every atom and elementary particle stores these bits, and every collision between those atoms and particles flips the bits into a new arrangement and effortlessly spins out beautiful and complex systems, including galaxies, planets and life itself.
But every computer needs a program, the set of instructions that tell it what patterns to create. Where did the bits come from that tell the universe to create its magnificent complexity? Who - or what - is programming the universe?
ISBN: 9780099455370
Publisher: RANDOM HOUSE UK
Year first published: 01 Jun 2007
Pages: 256
Format: Paperback / softback
A hugely important book about one of the hottest topics in science - the extent to which the universe functions as a giant computer.
IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE BIT...
The universe is made of bits of information and it has been known for more than a century that every piece of the the universe - every electron, atom and molecule - registers these bits and that information. It is only in the last years, however, with the discovery and development of quantum computers, that scientists have gained a fundamental understanding of just how that information is registered and processed.
Building on recent breakthroughs in quantum computation, Seth Lloyd shows how the universe itself is a giant computer. Every atom and elementary particle stores these bits, and every collision between those atoms and particles flips the bits into a new arrangement and effortlessly spins out beautiful and complex systems, including galaxies, planets and life itself.
But every computer needs a program, the set of instructions that tell it what patterns to create. Where did the bits come from that tell the universe to create its magnificent complexity? Who - or what - is programming the universe?
