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Quantum Supremacy
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • An exhilarating tour of humanity's next great technological achievement—quantum computing—which may eventually illuminate the deepest mysteries of science, supercharge artificial intelligence, and solve some of humanity's biggest problems, like global warming, world hunger, and incurable disease, by the bestselling author of The God Equation.
The runaway success of the microchip processor may be reaching its end. Running up against the physical constraints of smaller and smaller sizes, traditional silicon chips are not likely to prove useful in solving humanity’s greatest challenges, from climate change, to global starvation, to incurable diseases. But the quantum computer, which harnesses the power and complexity of the atomic realm, already promises to be every bit as revolutionary as the transistor and microchip once were. Its unprecedented gains in computing power herald advancements that could change every aspect of our daily lives.
Automotive companies, medical researchers, and consulting firms are betting on quantum computing, hoping to exploit its power to design more efficient vehicles, create life-saving new drugs, and streamline industries to revolutionize the economy. But this is only the beginning. Quantum computers could allow us to finally create nuclear fusion reactors that create clean, renewable energy without radioactive waste or threats of meltdown. They could help us crack the biological processes that generate natural, cheap fertilizer and enable us to feed the world’s growing populations. And they could unravel the fiendishly difficult protein folding that lies at the heart of previously incurable diseases like Alzheimer’s, ALS, and Parkinson’s, helping us to live longer, healthier lives. There is not a single problem humanity faces that couldn’t be addressed by quantum computing. Told with Kaku’s signature clarity and enthusiasm, Quantum Supremacy is the story of this exciting frontier and the race to claim humanity’s future.
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Reviews
Michio Kaku’s “Quantum Supremacy” is a wonderful primer on all things quantum. Taking us through multiple fields of the sciences to establish building blocks of understanding in part one. He later builds up a frame of understanding in later parts on unified models and what makes the quantum model so hard to stabilize. Lastly, he finishes off this structure with broad strokes on the biggest challenges we face as a species and how the quantum computing era can solve them. It’s Kaku’s deep dives into the practical and theoretical applications of quantum computing to solve long, perplexing problems that will draw most readers in. It’s his philosophical hope for how these machines ca. bring about a more vibrant future that will make most stay. Kaku is whimsical at times but generally adamant that the key to unlocking some of the universe’s greatest mysteries is ultimately the quantum computer. Making them the physicist’s equivalent to the philosopher’s stone. Pragmatically, there are numerous impediments that remain in the way of achieving the quantum computing reality. Complex math problems, challenging constraints with superconductors, sustaining coherence, and so on. Luckily, will is not one of them. That surplus of spirit could be the existential concern that we all should worry about. The God like power that could be put into the hands of the most nefarious among us. This is a topic that Kaku completely passes over and hurts the book. Especially given the recent turns against science funding and research in the US. That said, Kaku remains skillful at taking the very complex topic of Quantum Theory and distilling it down to digestible anecdotes for all audiences. Again, those nuggets of understanding are built carefully upon to bring every reader to a profound realization beyond quantum computing. This point being that Quantum Mechanics is the nexus point where almost all other fields of the science will converge as we make advances.
By Richard Bakare
If you’re looking for deep detail on how quantum computing works, this would not be your book. However, this is a great book for covering applications of quantum computing and who the major players are in the field of quantum computing. Very enjoyable!
By Lone Gunfighter