Description
Book SynopsisTrade Review[Yunger Halpern] reimagines 19th-century thermodynamics through a modern, quantum lens, playing with the aesthetics of the 1800s through trains, dirigibles and horseless carriages. It is a physics book, but one that is as likely to attract readers of science fiction as those of popular science.
—Simon Ings,
NewScientistAt this moment when quantum theory is being applied, nonexperts will find this guide helpful.
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Harvard MagazineQuantum Steampunk is probably the best plain English explanation of quantum physics you'll find anywhere. Dr. Halpern uses illustrations, whimsical descriptions, and humor.
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Quantum ZeitgeistAn entertaining book... that explains the essence and secrets of the many facets of quantum thermodynamics in layman's terms....By adding literary flair to otherwise dry technical content, Yunger Halpern masterfully conveys in simple terms the variety of complex ideas that characterize the different subfields of quantum thermodynamics.
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Physics Today[Yunger Halpern] combines fragments of a yet-to-be-written steampunk novel with her personal and technical accounts of coming of age in the modern era of quantum thermodynamics.This optimistic, balanced view of modern quantum research, emphasizing fundamentals and minimizing hype, is a good introduction for the general scientific-minded reader.
—Charles Clark,
NIST ConnectionsTable of ContentsPrologue. Once upon a time in physics
Chapter 1. Information theory: Of passwords and probabilities
Chapter 2. Quantum physics: Everything at once, or, one thing at a time?
Chapter 3. Quantum computation: Everything at once
Chapter 4. Thermodynamics: "May I drive?"
Chapter 5. A fine merger: Thermodynamics, information theory, and quantum physics
Chapter 6. The physics of yesterday's tomorrow: The landscape of quantum steampunk
Chapter 7. Pedal to the metal: Quantum thermal machines
Chapter 8. Tick tock: Quantum clocks
Chapter 9. Unsteady as she goes: Fluctuation relations
Chapter 10. Entropy, energy, and a tiny possibility: One-shot thermodynamics
Chapter 11. Resource theories: A ha'penny of a quantum state
Chapter 12. The unseen kingdom: When quantum observables don't cooperate
Chapter 13. All over the map: Rounding out our tour
Chapter 14. Stepping off the map: Quantum steampunk crosses borders
Epilogue. Where to next? The future of quantum steampunk
Acknowledgments
Glossary
References
Index
