Richard P. Feynman
The Feynman Lectures on Computation Publication date : September 21, 2006
This book is an adaptation of the course on computation taught by Richard Feynman at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), from 1983 to 1986. Feynman, regarded as the most important physicist of the second half of the twentieth century, examines the potentialities and limitations of computers with his characteristic insight and wit.
The first chapters cover the basics of computer science: computer organisation, the theory of computing, and the theory of coding and information. The chapters that follow deal with the deep relationship between physics and computation: thermodynamics, quantum computers and semiconductors.
Feynman was a brilliant calculator and the way he confronts electronic computation here provides a glimpse into his personality.
This is a fascinating book about a science which has had as much impact on our daily lives as the steam engine and electricity had in their own day.
Richard Feynman (1918-1988) was a professor of theoretical physics at the California Institute of Technology. In 1965, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. His works include the following, all published in French by Editions Odile Jacob: Six Easy Pieces (Vous y comprenez quelque chose, Monsieur Feynman?, 1998), Surely Youre Joking, Mr. Feynman (Vous voulez rire, Monsieur Feynman!, 2000), The Feynman Lectures on Physics (Leçons sur la physique, 2000) and The Feynman Lectures on Gravitation (Leçons sur la gravitation, 2001).
The first chapters cover the basics of computer science: computer organisation, the theory of computing, and the theory of coding and information. The chapters that follow deal with the deep relationship between physics and computation: thermodynamics, quantum computers and semiconductors.
Feynman was a brilliant calculator and the way he confronts electronic computation here provides a glimpse into his personality.
This is a fascinating book about a science which has had as much impact on our daily lives as the steam engine and electricity had in their own day.
Richard Feynman (1918-1988) was a professor of theoretical physics at the California Institute of Technology. In 1965, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. His works include the following, all published in French by Editions Odile Jacob: Six Easy Pieces (Vous y comprenez quelque chose, Monsieur Feynman?, 1998), Surely Youre Joking, Mr. Feynman (Vous voulez rire, Monsieur Feynman!, 2000), The Feynman Lectures on Physics (Leçons sur la physique, 2000) and The Feynman Lectures on Gravitation (Leçons sur la gravitation, 2001).