- Paperback: 240 pages
- Publisher: Basic Books; Reprint edition (Mar 24 2004)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0465044298
- ISBN-13: 978-0465044290
- Product Dimensions: 21.1 x 14.2 x 1.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 222 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#632,618 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #57 in Books > Science > Technology > Innovations
- #100 in Books > Science > Technology > Nanotechnology
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
In 1962, Arthur C. Clarke offered three laws of technological development, the last of which reads: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." Expanding on an article he wrote for Wired, McCarthy uses Clarke's law as a jumping-off point for a grand tour of cutting-edge "quantum dot" research, a field that seems like nothing so much as alchemy, 21st-century style. Quantum dots are tiny pieces of semiconductor that can trap electrons, with a remarkable consequence: "the electrons trapped in a quantum dot will arrange themselves as though they were part of an atom, even through there's no atomic nucleus for them to surround." The result is an artificial atom, maybe 50 times larger than a natural one, that can simulate the properties of any element on the periodic table by catching or releasing additional electrons. McCarthy offers an extensive survey of both the science behind such "programmable matter" and the scientists developing it, reveling in applications as far-ranging as walls that light a room with their own radiant glow, cars that levitate along magnetic streets, and TV screens that "look less like a moving picture and more like a window into a real, three-dimensional space." The author, an engineer as well as a writer, is a part of the story himself, holding a patent for an application of quantum dots that he calls "wellstone" (his patent application is included as an appendix), and he makes an informative but at times technically dense case for the promising, even magical, potential of programmable atoms.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
McCarthy, perhaps best known for his science fiction (see the review of his latest novel on p.1286), turns his attention to a real-life scientific revolution somewhere in our future. Eventually, he predicts, matter will be made programmable--easily changed from hard to soft, for instance-- by "quantum dots." Readers who are barely on nodding terms with Einstein need not be deterred. McCarthy employs a soothing narrative manner that draws readers into the story; even when the science gets tough to digest, there's enough "fiction"--freewheeling speculation--to keep you going. As an engineer, sf writer, and journalist, McCarthy says he has an "obsession with the future." That's what allows him to take the quantum-dot theory and run with it, extrapolating how these very tiny dots will change the ways homes use heat and light, make Jetson-style transportation possible, and even bring about the development of new colors. Throughout, McCarthy describes the phenomenon of programmable matter as a kind of magic. His knack for describing it is magical in itself. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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First Sentence
THE HARDEST THING YOU CAN ASK THEM is how old they are. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
THE HARDEST THING YOU CAN ASK THEM is how old they are. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
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Most helpful customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Star Trek Explained,
By
This review is from: Hacking Matter: Levitating Chairs, Quantum Mirages, and the Infinite Weirdness Of Programmable Atoms (Paperback)
I think the content of the book was so far out into the future that suddenly Star Trek movies make sence. The material is discussing theory so much with real practical applications many decades away, that one cannot help but think of Star Trek. It is with programmable matter that the future trekies can enable themselves to own cool toys like tricorders, replicators, cloaking devices, shape shifters etc. I think an alternative title of the book could have been, "Star Trek Explained" :-)Being a science fiction fan, I enjoyed it thoroughly, except for the technical details of wellstone which was a drag in the end...
5.0 out of 5 stars
brilliant -,
By avarma "avarma" (Austin, TX United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Hacking Matter: Invisble Clothes, Levitating Chairs, And The Ultimate Killer App (Hardcover)
One can poke several holes into a lot of the stuff that is discussed in the book - especially that this technology (using quantum dots to create artificial matter that emulates real matter) is so far away as to be in the realm of sci-fi. However -inspite of all those caveats - the author does a great job of explaining the potential of this technology. His enthusiasm is contagious - and one really wishes that this technology advances at a faster pace.I enjoyed it thoroughly - and compliment the author on his well-researched and well presented ideas.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A focused yet wandering introduction to quantum materials,
By
This review is from: Hacking Matter: Invisble Clothes, Levitating Chairs, And The Ultimate Killer App (Hardcover)
I purchased this book for the title alone, while shelf-browsing at ETcon 2003; to see a non-fiction book discussing programmable matter on the cover was enough to catch my attention.I found it a casual, yet enjoyable read; it threads gently through the prerequisite background, glossing over the specific details to keep the primary focus of the book intact; as it turned out, this didn't affect my enjoyment at all, while providing lots of jumping-off points for the interested observer to research further. Managing to not get distracted by the fact that such things as "electron shells" and "thermochromatics", it introduces the reader (educated as they may or may not be) to the concept of a kind of material whose properties can be changed at will, by humans (not just nature). The core concept at hand is "quantum dots", and the text returns over and over again to this, diverging occasionally to provide anecdotes, or ways these semi-magical materials have already been (or soon, could be) used. Overall, I felt the book a good read; if you're looking for an introduction into the world of quantum dots, dynamically modifiable materials, and science the likes of which one would formerly have expected from science fiction. It's not a book in which can be found explicit technical details, though there's more than a hundred references in the end-of-book bibliography; for that alone, it would be a perfect entry point for research. Highly recommended.
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