Hacking Matter

Levitating Chairs, Quantum Mirages, And The Infinite Weirdness Of Programmable Atoms

By: Wil McCarthy

Write A Review

Paperback | 14 April 2004 | Edition Number 1

Sorry, we are not able to source the book you are looking for right now.

We did a search for other books with a similar title, however there were no matches. You can try selecting from a similar category, click on the author's name, or use the search box above to find your book.

Programmable matter is probably not the next technological revolution, nor even perhaps the one after that. But it's coming, and when it does, it will change our lives as much as any invention ever has. Imagine being able to program matter itself-to change it, with the click of a cursor, from hard to soft, from paper to stone, from fluorescent to super-reflective to invisible. Supported by companies ranging from Levi Strauss to IBM and the Defense Department, solid-state physicists in laboratories at MIT, Harvard, Sun Microsystems, and elsewhere are currently creating arrays of microscopic devices called "quantum dots" that are capable of acting like programmable atoms. They can be configured electronically to replicate the properties of any known atom and then can be changed, as fast as an electrical signal can travel, to have the properties of a different atom. Soon it will be possible not only to engineer into solid matter such unnatural properties as variable magnetism, programmable flavors, or centuple bonds far stronger than diamond, but also to change these properties at will. Wil McCarthy visits the laboratories and talks with the researchers who are developing this extraordinary technology; describes how they are learning to control its electronic, optical, thermal, magnetic, and mechanical properties; and tells us where all this will lead. The possibilities are truly magical.

Industry Reviews

"The book's science is solid and McCarthy's fervor genuinely infectious. The future never felt so close."

Shipping

	Standard Shipping	Express Shipping
Metro postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Regional postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Rural postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95

Orders over $79.00 qualify for free shipping.

How to return your order

At Booktopia, we offer hassle-free returns in accordance with our returns policy. If you wish to return an item, please get in touch with Booktopia Customer Care.

Additional postage charges may be applicable.

Defective items

If there is a problem with any of the items received for your order then the Booktopia Customer Care team is ready to assist you.

For more info please visit our Help Centre.

You Can Find This Book In

Non-Fiction Computing & I.T.Computer Security Science Science in General Popular Science Computer Science History Earliest Times to Present Day Modern History from 1700 to 1900 Physics Quantum Physics & Quantum Mechanics & Quantum Field Theory

Nuclear Physics Engineering & Technology Technology in General Nanotechnology Mechanical Engineering & Materials Materials Science

Programmable Matter: A Retrospective	p. xi
Acknowledgments	p. xv
Clarke's Law and the Need for Magic	p. 1
Standing Waves	p. 9
The Play of Light	p. 39
Thermodynamics and the Limits of the Possible	p. 61
Magnetism and Mechanics	p. 89
The Point-and-Click Promise	p. 113
The Programmable City	p. 133
The Future Tense	p. 151
Afterword: Accidental Demigods?	p. 171
References	p. 175
Patent Application	p. 185
Acronyms	p. 208
Index	p. 209
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Hacking Matter

Levitating Chairs, Quantum Mirages, And The Infinite Weirdness Of Programmable Atoms

Industry Reviews

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

More in Engineering & Technology

Living Soil

A Grower's Guide

Quantum 2.0

The Past, Present, and Future of Quantum Physics

Gemini and Mercury Remastered

How to Love Your Afro

Your Holistic Natural Hair and Self-Love Guide - from the Host of the Texture Talks Podcast

The Breath of the Gods

The History and Future of the Wind

Royal Observatory Greenwich

A History in Objects

Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties

The Gardener's and Farmer's Guide to Plant Breeding and Seed Saving, 2nd Edition

Call of the Reed Warbler

Revised Edition

The Australian Beekeeping Manual

3rd Edition

Fire Country

How Indigenous Fire Management Could Help Save Australia

Training & Working Dogs

for Quiet Confident Control of Stock

Thing Explainer

Complicated Stuff in Simple Words

Backyard Chickens

How to Keep Happy Hens

For the Love of Soil

Strategies to Regenerate Our Food Production Systems

Australian Forest Woods

Characteristics, Uses and Identification

Astronomy for Curious Kids

An illustrated introduction to the solar system, our galaxy, space travel-and more!

The Holographic Universe

The Dog Encyclopedia

The Definitive Visual Guide

First Knowledges Innovation

Knowledge and Ingenuity

Muster Dogs From Pups to Pros

A new companion book to the heartwarming show for fans of Back Roads and The Flying Vet

The Times Comprehensive Atlas of the World [16th Edition]

Outback Astronomer

The extraordinary story of how an amateur astronomer's unwavering passion for the cosmos propelled him from the mines of Broken

Plug In!

The Electrification Handbook

The Art of Japanese Joinery

This product is categorised by