A Shortcut Through Time

Paperback. English. Vintage. 2004. In fair condition.

The Newest Pentium Chip Powering PCs And Laptops Contains 40 Million Electronic Switches Packed Onto A Piece Of Silicon About The Size Of A Thumbnail. Several Years From Now, If This Incredible Shrinking Continues, A Single Chip Will Hold A Billion Switches, Then A Trillion. The Logical Culmination Is A Computer In Which The Switches Are So Tiny That Each Consists Of An Individual Atom. At That Point Something Miraculous Happens: Quantum Mechanics Kick In. Anyone Who Follows The Science News Or Watches 'Star Trek' Has At Least A Notion Of What That Means: Particles Can Be In Two Or More Places At Once. Atoms Obey A Peculiar Logic Of Their Own - And If It Can Be Harnessed Society Will Be Transformed. Problems That Would Now Take Forever Would Be Solved Almost Instantly. Quantum Computing Promises Nothing Less Than A Shortcut Through Time.