Hacking Matter: Levitating Chairs, Quantum Mirages, and the Infinite Weirdness of Programmable Atoms.WIL MCCARTHY Wil McCarthy (born September 16, 1966, Princeton, New Jersey) is a science fiction novelist, Chief Technology Officer for Galileo Shipyards (an aerospace research corporation), and the science columnist for the Sci Fi Channel (United States). He currently resides in Colorado. Imagine that with a flick of a switch, a wall becomes a window, a soft cushion becomes hard, or your sweater changes color. Imagine making such changes in almost any type of material on a whim whim n. 1. A sudden or capricious idea; a fancy. 2. Arbitrary thought or impulse: governed by whim. 3. A vertical horse-powered drum used as a hoist in a mine. . Today, scientists are developing quantum dots--microscopic devices capable of acting like programmable atoms--to try make that possible. Theoretically, quantum dots (physics) quantum dot - (Or "single-electron transistor") A location capable of containing a single electrical charge; i.e., a single electron of Coulomb charge. Physically, quantum dots are nanometer-size semiconductor structures in which the presence or absence of a quantum can be configured con·fig·ure tr.v. con·fig·ured, con·fig·ur·ing, con·fig·ures To design, arrange, set up, or shape with a view to specific applications or uses: to replicate the properties of any known atom and can then be changed--as fast as an electronic signal can travel--to have the properties of a different atom. McCarthy details the physics behind quantum dots and surveys their myriad potential applications that could change life in the 22nd century. Basic, 2003, 222 p., b&w illus., hard-cover, $26.00. |
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