Tuesday, July 27, 2004

Quantum Cocktail


While I applaud the attempt at metaphor, I'm not sure I understand it. Then, again, I keep waiting by my mailbox for cocktail party invitations.

    (David) Grier compares the light output, or "noise," of a blinking group of quantum dots to the babble of cocktail-party conversation. "Even if everyone's talking about the same thing, you probably wouldn't be able to figure out what they're saying," Grier says. "Matt has discovered that, for these blinking quantum dots, all the conversations are the same in a very special way. And that allows you to figure out an awful lot about what's being said by listening to the whole crowd." More here

NanoBot Backgrounder
Metaphors thinner than a human hair
Merkle and the case of the misleading metaphor

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