Quantum Thermodynamics: A Steampunk Adventure with Nicole Yunger Halpern (#225)

Nicole Yunger Halpern is a theoretical physicist, NIST physicist
and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Physics at the University of
Maryland.  She is also currently a Fellow of the Joint
Center for Quantum Information and Computer Science at the
University of Maryland. Nicole reenvisions 19th-century
thermodynamics for the 21st century, using the mathematical toolkit
of quantum information (QI) theory. She applies QI thermodynamics
as a lens through which to view the rest of science, gaining new
perspectives on atomic, molecular and optical physics, condensed
matter, chemistry, high-energy physics, and biophysics. She calls
this research “quantum steampunk,” after the steampunk genre of art
and literature that juxtaposes Victorian settings with futuristic
technologies. Dr. Yunger’s book, Quantum Steampunk is about how the
Industrial Revolution meets the quantum-technology revolution! It
is a steampunk adventure guide to how mind-blowing quantum physics
is transforming our understanding of information and energy.In the
book she shows how Victorian era steam engines and particle physics
may seem worlds (as well as centuries) apart, yet a new branch of
science, quantum thermodynamics, reenvisions the scientific
underpinnings of the Industrial Revolution through the lens of
today's roaring quantum information revolution. Classical
thermodynamics, understood as the study of engines, energy, and
efficiency, needs reimagining to take advantage of quantum
mechanics, the basic framework that explores the nature of reality
by peering at minute matters, down to the momentum of a single
particle. Readers follow the adventures of a rag-tag steampunk crew
on trains, dirigibles, and automobiles, as they explore questions
such as, "Can quantum physics revolutionize engines?" and "What
deeper secrets can quantum information reveal about the trajectory
of time?" Yunger Halpern also describes her own adventures in the
quantum universe and provides an insider's look at the work of the
scientists obsessed with its technological promise.
https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/12750/quantum-steampunk
https://quantumsteampunk.umiacs.io/ https://twitter.com/nicoleyh11
https://quics.umd.edu/ Topis discussed include: What is Entropy?
Where does physics end and chemistry begin? What is Maxwell's
Demon? What does it mean to destroy information? What happens if I
burn this book?! What is a Boltzman Brain? What is a quantum
computer? Can quantum computing help make the blockchain more
efficient? Why go into thermodynamics as a career now? The unsung
virtues of thermometry. Please Visit our Sponsors: LinkedIn:
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Produced by Stuart Volkow (P.G.A) and Brian Keating Edited by
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