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Hacking Matter: Levitating Chairs, Quantum Mirages, and the Infinite Weirdness of Programmable Atoms

Changing matter at will—the idea sounds familiar. I first came across it in Arthur C. Clarke's “The City and the Stars”. So, this part-fact part-fiction book did not bring anything novel except for the claim that programmable matter is within reach. Personally, I found Arthur C. Clarke's fiction of programmable matter much more impressive. Still, the book has some high points, especially the tutorial description of quantum dots and a valiant attempt to extrapolate the current laboratory experience into fictional real-world products.

Impression: I have seen the idea before, so the book fell below my expectations. There were some interesting parts, but I will probably not read it again.

Arun Chauhan / Computer Science / Indiana University