Category Archives: Uncategorized

Q: How big is the universe? What happens at the “edge”?

Physicist: Quite. This is a surprisingly subtle question.  The problem is, we can’t see the entire universe.  Imagine standing in a vast prairie or floating on a ship at sea.  Looking around you see a lot of the same stuff, … Continue reading

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A Quantum Computation Course 4: Full Measure

Physicist: If you’ve made it through the last fifteen lectures, you’ll enjoy the last installment.  It’s about using entanglement as a tool to measure, communicate, control, and ultimately blow our own minds. Lecture 16: Quantum Measurements Lecture 17: Quantum Noise … Continue reading

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A Quantum Computation Course 3: Rise of the Quanta

Physicist: The last five chapters should have left you terrified.  These should leave you inspired.  With all of the mathematical tools established, these lectures get into some of the remarkable things that quantum hardware can do. Lecture 11: Bell’s Theorem … Continue reading

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A Quantum Computation Course 2: Quantum Harder

Physicist: The quantum computation course is still where all of my time is going.  Here’s five more lessons, each more profound than the last. Lecture 6: Density Matrices Lecture 7: Classical Information Lecture 8: Entanglement Lecture 9: Quantum Information I … Continue reading

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Q: Is silicon life possible? Why all the fuss over carbon-based life?

The original question was: If there is life on any other planets, is it highly likely to be Carbon based than any other elements, for instance Silicon? I am asking this question because, almost all the discussion of Extraterrestrial life … Continue reading

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Q: Why was it so hard to take a picture of a black hole? What are we even looking at?

Physicist: Black holes and space are both black, so there’s that.  But while black holes tend to be very small, space is bonkers big and filled with just enough stuff to give astronomers things to look at while simultaneously getting … Continue reading

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