Lecture Notes in Computer Science 1509 Edited by G

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Lecture Notes in Computer Science 1509 Edited by G Lecture Notes in Computer Science 1509 Edited by G. Goos, J. Hartmanis and J. van Leeuwen 3 Berlin Heidelberg New York Barcelona Hong Kong London Milan Paris Singapore Tokyo Colin P. Williams (Ed.) Quantum Computing and Quantum Communications First NASA International Conference, QCQC’98 Palm Springs, California, USA February 17-20, 1998 Selected Papers 13 Series Editors Gerhard Goos, Karlsruhe University, Germany Juris Hartmanis, Cornell University, NY, USA Jan van Leeuwen, Utrecht University, The Netherlands Volume Editor Colin P. Williams Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology Quantum Algorithms and Technologies Group Information and Computing Technologies Research Section Mail Stop 126-347, Pasadena, CA 91109-8099, USA E-mail: [email protected] Cataloging-in-Publication data applied for Die Deutsche Bibliothek - CIP-Einheitsaufnahme Quantum computing and quantum communications : first NASA international conference ; selected papers / QCQC’98, Palm Springs, California, USA, February 17 - 20, 1998. Colin P. Williams (ed.). - Berlin ; Heidelberg ; New York ; Barcelona ; Hong Kong ; London ; Milan ; Paris ; Singapore ; Tokyo : Springer, 1999 (Lecture notes in computer science ; Vol. 1509) ISBN 3-540-65514-X CR Subject Classification (1998): F.1, E.3, E.4, F.2 ISSN 0302-9743 ISBN 3-540-65514-X Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg New York This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, re-use of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other way, and storage in data banks. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the German Copyright Law of September 9, 1965, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer-Verlag. Violations are liable for prosecution under the German Copyright Law. c Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1999 Printed in Germany Typesetting: Camera-ready by author SPIN 10692655 06/3142–543210 Printedonacid-free paper Preface Colin P. Williams? Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109-8099, email: [email protected] Over the past half century computers have gone from being the room-sized servants of a privileged few to the totable companions of business travellers, school children, and just about anyone who can point and click a mouse. In part, this transformation was made possible by the dramatic miniaturization in the basic components of a computer. This trend was quantified in 1964 by Gordon Moore, one of the founders of Intel, who noticed that the amount of information that could be stored on a given amount of silicon doubled roughly every 18 months. The doubling trend continues to this day and, by crude extrapolation, predicts that the computers of 2020 might be approaching the one-atom-per-bit level. Physical systems such as atoms, however, behave in ways that are very dif- ferent from everyday objects. In fact they are governed by the laws of quantum mechanics rather than classical mechanics. In the early 1980’s some foresighted physicists, such es Charles Bennett (our conference Chairperson), Rolf Landauer, Paul Benioff, David Deutsch, and Richard Feynman, began to question what it would mean for a computer to operate at the one-atom-per-bit scale. The el- ementary operations of such a computer would need to be described in terms of quantum mechanics. Recently, physicists and computer scientists have come to appreciate that certain quantum effects, in particular superposition, inter- ference, entanglement, non-locality, indeterminism, and non-clonability, allow entirely new kinds of tasks to be performed. These tasks include teleporting quantum information, establishing shared secret cryptographic keys, searching unstructured “virtual” databases, factoring composite integers, simulating phys- ical systems, and enhancing the capacity of classical communication channels. In an effort to elucidate new ideas, and to push the envelope on existing ones, in 1998 my colleagues, Leon Alkalai, Richard Doyle, Amir Fijany, Sandeep Gulati, Benny Toomarian, Michail Zak, and I at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, organized the “First NASA International Conference on Quantum Computing and Quantum Communications”, in Palm Springs, California. We imposed an a priori structure of the meeting that was designed to solicit contributions on how quantum computing might impact NASA mission objectives in computation and communications. I am delighted to say that NASA obtained great value for money from this conference. The papers contained in this volume are a testament to the rich diversity of ideas that were presented. ? Supported by the NASA/JPL Center for Integrated Space Microsystems, NASA Advanced Concepts Office and the NASA Information and Computing Research Technologies Program VI Preface NASA’s interest in quantum computing and quantum communications stems from its need to solve daunting computational and communications problems. In particular, spacecraft design, mission planning, observation scheduling, design optimization, image processing, data assimilation, robotic vision, all impose ex- treme demands on computational resources. Given that quantum computers are known to speed up the solution of some computational problems and facilitate more efficient communications, we’d like to circumscribe their capabilities on the computational and communications problems of interest to NASA. In this regard, the Palm Springs conference was a tremendous success with several new ideas emerging for tackling structured search problems, Earth-to-space quantum key distribution, improved precision atomic clocks, and quantum gyroscopy. The papers appearing in this volume are organized by the following five themes: Entanglement and Quantum Algorithms, Quantum Cryptography, Quan- tum Copying and Quantum Information Theory, Quantum Error Correction and Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computing,andEmbodiments of Quantum Computers. With such a diverse range of contributions we hope that there will be something in this volume to interest everyone. I would like to thank the program committee and reviewers who all con- tributed greatly to the success of the NASA QCQC’98 conference. I pay special thanks to Dr. Charles Bennett of IBM for serving as the conference Chairper- son. Finally, I would like to thank our NASA/JPL sponsors who supported this conference both financially and intellectually. In particular, I thank the NASA/JPL Center for Integrated Space Microsystems (CISM), the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, the NASA/JPL Center for Space Microelectron- ics Technology (CSMT), and the NASA Autonomy and Information Technology Program Office. Colin P. Williams Table of Contents Entanglement and Quantum Algorithms Multi-particle Entanglement via Two-Particle Entanglement ............. 1 G. Brassard and T. Mor Quantum Wavelet Transforms: Fast Algorithms and Complete Circuits ... 10 A. Fijany and C.P. Williams Quantum Computer for Fluid Simulation ............................. 34 J. Yepez Quantum Entanglement and the Communication Complexity of the Inner Product Function .................................................. 61 R. Cleve, W. van Dam, M. Nielsen, and A. Tapp Quantum Recurrent Networks for Simulating Stochastic Processes........ 75 M. Zak and C.P. Williams Correlation Between Correlations: Process and Time in Quantum Networks 89 G. Mahler and I. Kim Quantum Effects in Algorithms ......................................103 R. Jozsa Automated Design of Quantum Circuits ..............................113 C.P. Williams and A.G. Gray Quantum Search on Structured Problems .............................126 L.K. Grover Generalized Grover Search Algorithm for Arbitrary Initial Amplitude Distribution .......................................................140 D. Biron, O. Biham, E. Biham, M. Grassl, and D. Lidar Quantum Database Search by a Single Query ..........................148 D.P. Chi and J. Kim Quantum Computer Cannot Speed Up Iterated Applications of a Black Box ..............................................................152 Y. Ozhigov Quantum Resonance for Solving NP-complete Problems by Simulations ...160 M. Zak VIII Table of Contents Computational Complexity and Physical Law ..........................167 D. Abrams and S. Lloyd The Hidden Subgroup Problem and Eigenvalue Estimation on a Quantum Computer .........................................................174 M. Mosca and A. Ekert A Diakoptic Approach to Quantum Computation ......................174 G. Castagnoli and D. Monti Quantum Cryptography Practical Free-Space Quantum Cryptography ..........................200 R.J.Hughes,W.T.Buttler,P.G.Kwiat,S.K.Lamoreaux,G.G.Luther, G.L. Morgan, J.E. Nordholt, C.G. Peterson, and C.M. Simmons Quantum Cryptography, Eavesdropping and Unsharp Spin Measurement ..214 S. Roy and G. Kar Quantum Copying and Quantum Information Theory Information-Theoretic Aspects of Quantum Copying ....................218 N.J. Cerf Universal Optimal Cloning of Qubits and Quantum Registers ............235 V. Buzek and M. Hillery Entanglement of Assistance .........................................247 D.P. DiVincenzo, C.A. Fuchs, H. Mabuchi, J.A. Smolin, A. Thapliyal, and A. Uhlmann What Information Theory Can Tell Us about Quantum Reality ..........258 C. Adami and N.J. Cerf Quantum Generalization of Conditional Entropy and Information ........269
Recommended publications
  • 2018 March Meeting Program Guide
    MARCHMEETING2018 LOS ANGELES MARCH 5-9 PROGRAM GUIDE #apsmarch aps.org/meetingapp aps.org/meetings/march Senior Editor: Arup Chakraborty Robert T. Haslam Professor of Chemical Engineering; Professor of Chemistry, Physics, and Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, MIT Now welcoming submissions in the Physics of Living Systems Submit your best work at elifesci.org/physics-living-systems Image: D. Bonazzi (CC BY 2.0) Led by Senior Editor Arup Chakraborty, this dedicated new section of the open-access journal eLife welcomes studies in which experimental, theoretical, and computational approaches rooted in the physical sciences are developed and/or applied to provide deep insights into the collective properties and function of multicomponent biological systems and processes. eLife publishes groundbreaking research in the life and biomedical sciences. All decisions are made by working scientists. WELCOME t is a pleasure to welcome you to Los Angeles and to the APS March I Meeting 2018. As has become a tradition, the March Meeting is a spectacular gathering of an enthusiastic group of scientists from diverse organizations and backgrounds who have broad interests in physics. This meeting provides us an opportunity to present exciting new work as well as to learn from others, and to meet up with colleagues and make new friends. While you are here, I encourage you to take every opportunity to experience the amazing science that envelops us at the meeting, and to enjoy the many additional professional and social gatherings offered. Additionally, this is a year for Strategic Planning for APS, when the membership will consider the evolving mission of APS and where we want to go as a society.
    [Show full text]
  • Rolf Landauer Was Born in Stuttgart, Germany, to Karl and Anna Landauer on February 4, 1927
    NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES R O L F W . L ANDAUE R 1 9 2 7 — 1 9 9 9 A Biographical Memoir by CHA R LES H. BENNETT AND ALAN B. FO W LE R Any opinions expressed in this memoir are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Academy of Sciences. Biographical Memoir COPYRIGHT 2009 NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES WASHINGTON, D.C. ROLF W. LANDAUER February 4, 1927–April 27, 1999 BY CHARLES H . BENNETT AND ALAN B . FO W LE R OLF W. LANDAUER IS REMEMBERED for wide-ranging contri- Rbutions to mesoscopic condensed matter and statistical physics, especially the theory of conductivity of disordered media (as described by Landauer’s formula) and for discov- ering the fundamental law (Landauer’s principle) governing the thermodynamics of information processing by physical systems. He is also remembered as an outstanding scientific and technical manager of IBM’s Watson Research Laboratory, guiding it from relative obscurity to become by 1970 one of the world’s two most important and innovative engineering and scientific laboratories. Rolf Landauer was born in Stuttgart, Germany, to Karl and Anna Landauer on February 4, 1927. Until Hitler had consolidated power Rolf lived in a prosperous, assimilated Jewish family. His father, a successful architect and builder, had been severely wounded while serving the kaiser in the First World War, in which he earned an Iron Cross, and was an ardent German nationalist. He eventually died of war wounds in 194, after Hitler’s accession to power, still believing that Nazi rule was just a temporary aberration.
    [Show full text]
  • Memorial Tributes: Volume 9
    THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS This PDF is available at http://nap.edu/10094 SHARE Memorial Tributes: Volume 9 DETAILS 326 pages | 6 x 9 | HARDBACK ISBN 978-0-309-07411-7 | DOI 10.17226/10094 CONTRIBUTORS GET THIS BOOK National Academy of Engineering FIND RELATED TITLES Visit the National Academies Press at NAP.edu and login or register to get: – Access to free PDF downloads of thousands of scientific reports – 10% off the price of print titles – Email or social media notifications of new titles related to your interests – Special offers and discounts Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the National Academies Press. (Request Permission) Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Memorial Tributes: Volume 9 i Memorial Tributes NATIONAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Memorial Tributes: Volume 9 ii Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Memorial Tributes: Volume 9 iii NATIONAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Memorial Tributes Volume 9 NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS Washington, D.C. 2001 Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Memorial Tributes: Volume 9 iv International Standard Book Number 0–309–07411–8 International Standard Serial Number 1075–8844 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 20–1088636 Additional copies of this publication are available from: National Academy Press 2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W. Box 285 Washington, D.C. 20055 800– 624–6242 or 202–334–3313 (in the Washington Metropolitan Area) B-467 Copyright 2001 by the National Academy of Sciences.
    [Show full text]
  • Book of Abstracts Ii Contents
    2019 CAP Congress / Congrès de l’ACP 2019 Sunday, 2 June 2019 - Friday, 7 June 2019 Simon Fraser University Book of Abstracts ii Contents Frugal Science in the Age of Curiosity / La science frugale à l’ère de la curiosité . 1 R(D(∗)) measurement at the Belle II Detector ........................ 1 WITHDRAWN - Symmetry restoration in mixed-spin paired heavy nuclei . 2 Quantum cryptography in realistic conditions with structured photons .......... 2 To Flip or not to Flip: Video Experiments in Physics Teacher Education .......... 3 WITHDRAWN - Estimation of interdiffusion variables for tungsten - glassy carbon couples ................................................ 3 35 - Plasmon-Enhanced Stimulated Raman Spectroscopy with Low-Power CW Lasers . 4 Modeling the slow cytotoxic swelling of dystrophic muscle fibers ............. 4 Probing the Strangeonium Hybrid Content of the Y(2175) Using Gaussian Sum-Rules . 5 Reducing dissipation in far-from-equilibrium biomolecular processes ........... 5 9 - Game of Hadrons ...................................... 6 About the definition of a ”local” temperature around a spacecraft in the ionosphere . 6 Studying the brain across scales using imaging and physics ................. 7 An Analytic Study of the Fourier Transform of the Gravitational Wave Pulsar Signal with Spin-down Effects ...................................... 7 32 - Localizing and excluding quantum information; or, how to share a quantum secret in spacetime .......................................... 8 6 - Experimental Detection of Qubit-Ququart
    [Show full text]
  • Ieee-Level Awards
    IEEE-LEVEL AWARDS The IEEE currently bestows a Medal of Honor, fifteen Medals, thirty-three Technical Field Awards, two IEEE Service Awards, two Corporate Recognitions, two Prize Paper Awards, Honorary Memberships, one Scholarship, one Fellowship, and a Staff Award. The awards and their past recipients are listed below. Citations are available via the “Award Recipients with Citations” links within the information below. Nomination information for each award can be found by visiting the IEEE Awards Web page www.ieee.org/awards or by clicking on the award names below. Links are also available via the Recipient/Citation documents. MEDAL OF HONOR Ernst A. Guillemin 1961 Edward V. Appleton 1962 Award Recipients with Citations (PDF, 26 KB) John H. Hammond, Jr. 1963 George C. Southworth 1963 The IEEE Medal of Honor is the highest IEEE Harold A. Wheeler 1964 award. The Medal was established in 1917 and Claude E. Shannon 1966 Charles H. Townes 1967 is awarded for an exceptional contribution or an Gordon K. Teal 1968 extraordinary career in the IEEE fields of Edward L. Ginzton 1969 interest. The IEEE Medal of Honor is the highest Dennis Gabor 1970 IEEE award. The candidate need not be a John Bardeen 1971 Jay W. Forrester 1972 member of the IEEE. The IEEE Medal of Honor Rudolf Kompfner 1973 is sponsored by the IEEE Foundation. Rudolf E. Kalman 1974 John R. Pierce 1975 E. H. Armstrong 1917 H. Earle Vaughan 1977 E. F. W. Alexanderson 1919 Robert N. Noyce 1978 Guglielmo Marconi 1920 Richard Bellman 1979 R. A. Fessenden 1921 William Shockley 1980 Lee deforest 1922 Sidney Darlington 1981 John Stone-Stone 1923 John Wilder Tukey 1982 M.
    [Show full text]
  • The Disaster of the Nazi Power in Science As Reflected by Some
    1 7KHGLVDVWHURIWKH1D]LSRZHULQVFLHQFH DVUHIOHFWHGE\VRPHOHDGLQJMRXUQDOVDQGVFLHQWLVWVLQSK\VLFV $ELEOLRPHWULFVWXG\ 0DQXHO&DUGRQD DQG:HUQHU0DU[ 0D[3ODQFN,QVWLWXWHIRU6ROLG6WDWH5HVHDUFK6WXWWJDUW *HUPDQ\ $EVWUDFW The dramatic consequences of the Nazi-power for science are described extensively in various articles and books. Recent progress in information systems allows a more quantitative reflection. Literature databases ranging back to the beginning of the 20th century, the ISI citation indexes ranging now back to 1945 and sophisticated search systems are suitable tools for this purpose. In this study the overall break in the scientific productivity and that of selected physical journals are examined. An overview of the citation impact of some 50 leading physicists is given. The productivity before and after departure is analyzed and connected to biographical data. ,QWURGXFWLRQ The indescribable agony of the victims of the Nazi-terror, in particular the Jews, exceeds any imagination and cannot be quantified. More comprehensible are the consequences for politics, economics, and science. The impact on the influence and reputation of German science and the shift of the centers of excellence and the language of science are well known. The loss of scientific potential and talent to Germany has been extensively discussed but mostly in a speculative way. In this study, a well established method for evaluating present science was used to analyze the past. We have determined the citation impact since 1945 of the publications of some of the most influential emigrants in physics. The break in productivity is measurable when relating the more recent impact to the publication years of the cited papers of the emigrants. In consideration of their hard fate and their huge contribution even to current science they should never fall into oblivion.
    [Show full text]
  • Ieee Edison Medal Recipients
    IEEE EDISON MEDAL RECIPIENTS 2021 KENICHI IGA (LFIEEE)— "For pioneering contributions to the concept, Professor Emeritus, Tokyo physics, and development of the vertical-cavity Institute of Technology, surface-emitting laser.” Tokyo, Japan 2020 FREDE BLAABJERG "For contributions to and leadership in power Professor, Department of electronics, developing a sustainable society.” Energy Technology, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark 2019 URSULA KELLER "For pioneering and fundamental contributions Director of NCCR MUST (Swiss to and leadership in useable, compact ultrafast National Centre of laser technology, enabling applications in Competence for Research in metrology, sensing, and biophotonics.” Molecular Ultrafast Science and Technology)—ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland 2018 ELI YABLONOVITCH "For leadership, innovations, and Professor, Electrical entrepreneurial achievements in photonics, Engineering & Computer semi-conductor lasers, antennas, and solar- Sciences Department, cells.” University of California, Berkeley, USA 2017 MAGNUS GEORGE CRAFORD “For a lifetime of pioneering contributions to Solid State Lighting Fellow, the development and commercialization of Philips Lumileds Lighting visible LED materials and devices.” Company, San Jose, CA, USA 2016 ROBERT W. BRODERSON “For contributions to integrated systems for Professor Emeritus, University wired and wireless communications, including of California, Berkeley, wireless connectivity of personal devices.” Berkeley, CA, USA 2015 JAMES JULIUS SPILKER, JR. “For contributions to the
    [Show full text]
  • Heterogeneity and Disorder: Contributions of Rolf Landauer
    Heterogeneity and Disorder: Contributions of Rolf Landauer Bertrand I. Halperina, David J. Bergmanb aDepartment of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA bRaymond and Beverly Sackler School of Physics & Astronomy, Tel Aviv University, IL-69978 Tel Aviv, Israel Abstract Rolf Landauer made important contributions to many branches of science. Within the broad area of transport in disordered media, he wrote seminal papers on electrical conduction in macroscopically inhomogeneous materials, as well as fundamental analyses of electron transport in quantum mechanical systems with disorder on the atomic scale. We review here some of these contributions. Key words: transport, disorder, conductance, heterogeneous materials 1. Introduction Rolf Landauer was recognized for outstanding ac- complishments in many branches of science. In addi- tion to his work on transport in inhomogeneous sys- tems, which will be the focus of the present article, Lan- dauer wrote papers on noise and fluctuations, on nonlin- ear wave propagation and soliton formation, on ferro- electric instabilities and displacive soft modes, entropy production in systems out of equilibrium, philosophical principles of science and technology, and above all, on the physical limits to computation. His influence in this last area was of such a magnitude that he was the sub- ject of a “Profile” article by Gary Stix in the Septem- ber 1998 issue of Scientific American [1]. The article Figure 1: Photograph of Rolf Landauer. Printed with permission from was titled “Riding the Back of Electrons”, and subtitled his survivors. “Theoretician Rolf Landauer remains a defining figure in the physics of information.” During his lifetime, Landauer received many awards ence should be interpreted.
    [Show full text]
  • Information Is Physical Rolf Landauer
    Information is Physical Rolf Landauer Citation: Physics Today 44, 5, 23 (1991); doi: 10.1063/1.881299 View online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.881299 View Table of Contents: http://physicstoday.scitation.org/toc/pto/44/5 Published by the American Institute of Physics Articles you may be interested in Information: From Maxwell’s demon to Landauer’s eraser Physics Today 68, (2015); 10.1063/PT.3.2912 INFORMATION IS PHYSICAL There are no unavoidable energy consumption requirements per step in a computer. Related analysis has provided insights into the measurement process and the communications channel, and has prompted speculations about the nature of physical laws. Rolf Landauer Thermodynamics arose in the 19th century out of the by the hope that the physical scientist can find an easy attempt to understand the performance limits of steam route to profound insights concerning the origin of life and engines in a way that would anticipate all further the progress of evolution. Concern with complexity inventions. Claude Shannon,1 after World War II, ana- replaces, to some extent, an earlier concern with self- lyzed the limits of the communications channel. It is no organization. There is also a view, originally presented by surprise, then, that shortly after the emergence of modern the great computer pioneer Konrad Zuse3 and later digital computing, similar questions appeared in that elaborated by Edward Fredkin,4 that the world itself is a field. It was not hard to associate a logic gate with a computer. The particle passing by you is really a bit, or degree of freedom, then to associate kT with that, and group of bits, moving along a set of interlinked logic units, presume that this energy has to be dissipated at every step.
    [Show full text]
  • The Info-Computation Turn in Physics
    The Info-Computation Turn in Physics Israel Belfer Bar Ilan University, Israel Abstract Modern Computation and Information theories have had significant impact on science in the 20th century - in theory and application. This influence is tracked (through a generalized, Information-laden scientific Style of Reasoning denoting the Information-theoretical and Computational turn in science), with a focus on the information processing and transfer metaphors and descriptive tools prevalent in current physics. Implementation of Information-Theoretical concepts produces such mathematical physical developments as Black-Hole Thermodynamics (BHTD) and the Black-Hole War. The treatment of physical systems as information processing systems drives such branches of physics as Quantum Information Theory (QIT). The common Informational basis of computation and communication brings about a foundational shift in scientific reasoning with deep – potentially problematic as well as intriguing – philosophical ramifications. Models of computation and of physics 1 Scientific Revolutions through a New Style of Reasoning Conceptions (Rolf Landauer, 1991) of physical reality as an Information1 -processing system permeate current science -- from rigorous statistical analysis (thermodynamics of black holes), through semantic aspirations to world-views such as Extreme Digital Ontology. Information processing ontologies are heralded as new Galilean world-systems of Info-Computationalism.2 As pervasive (Gleick, 2011) and perhaps overused a concept as it is – Information is heralded by some as 'the new language of science' (Baeyer, 2004). Even if accepted, this role requires a finer tuned description, offered by Hacking’s Styles of Reasoning. This brand of metaconcepts (Hacking, 1992, 2004) enables a description of a science imbued with information processing and transmission terminology.
    [Show full text]
  • Rolf Landauer (1927–99) Promising Technologies, Such As Early Attempts to Construct Computers Using Josephson Junctions and Tunnel Diodes
    news and views Obituary career, he witnessed the failure of many Rolf Landauer (1927–99) promising technologies, such as early attempts to construct computers using Josephson junctions and tunnel diodes. Head and heart of the IBM Having seen them come and go, Landauer physics of information was sceptical of new computer technologies, noting that most proposals It is well known that scientific progress gravely underestimated the difficulty in requires intellect. Less advertised is constructing a viable device. Over the past science’s need for conscience. Intellect 30 years, he wrote a series of articles creates new ideas; conscience examines pointing out deficiencies in various them for consistency and correctness. In alternative computing proposals, other words, a scientific field requires not including quantum computation. When a only ‘head’ but ‘heart’ as well. Rolf researcher failed to pay adequate attention Landauer was both head and heart to the to his published admonitions, he would field of physics of information. He died of warn them in person. For example, he cancer on 27 April this year at the age of 72. suggested that all papers on quantum Landauer based his research on a computing should carry a footnote: “This simple rule: information is physical. That proposal, like all proposals for quantum is, information is registered by physical could acquire information about the computation, relies on speculative systems such as strands of DNA, neurons velocities of individual molecules of a gas technology, does not in its current form and transistors; in turn, the ways in which could shepherd fast molecules in one take into account all possible sources of systems such as cells, brains and direction and slow molecules in another, noise, unreliability and manufacturing computers can process information is thereby decreasing the gas’s entropy.
    [Show full text]
  • Robert Cook-Deegan Human Genome Archive
    Bioethics Research Library The Joseph and Rose Kennedy Institute of Ethics bioethics.georgetown.edu A Guide to the Archival Collection of The Robert Cook-Deegan Human Genome Archive Set 3 April, 2013 Bioethics Research Library Joseph and Rose Kennedy Institute of Ethics Georgetown University Washington, D.C. Overview The Robert Cook-Deegan Human Genome Archive is founded on the bibliography of The Gene Wars: Science, Politics, and the Human Genome. The archive encompasses both physical and digital materials related to The Human Genome Project (HGP) and includes correspondence, government reports, background information, and oral histories from prominent participants in the project. Hosted by the Bioethics Research Library at Georgetown University the archive is comprised of 20.85 linear feet of materials currently and is expected to grow as new materials are processed and added to the collection. Most of the materials comprising the archive were obtained between the years 1986 and 1994. However, several of the documents are dated earlier. Introduction This box listing was created in order to assist the Bioethics Research Library in its digitization effort for the archive and is being shared as a resource to our patrons to assist in their use of the collection. The archive consists of 44 separate archive boxes broken down into three separate sets. Set one is comprised of nine boxes, set two is comprised of seven boxes, and set three is comprised of 28 boxes. Each set corresponds to a distinct addition to the collection in the order in which they were given to the library. No value should be placed on the importance of any given set, or the order the boxes are in, as each was accessed, processed, and kept in the order in which they were received.
    [Show full text]