No information without representation! This is the fundamental principle behind quantum information, a new, rapidly evolving field of physics. Information cannot exist without a physical system to represent it, be it chalk marks on a stone tablet or aligned spins in atomic nuclei. And because the laws of physics govern any such system, physics ultimately determines both the nature of information and how it can be manipulated. Quantum physics enables fundamentally new ways of information processing, such as procedures for "teleporting" states between remote locations, highly efficient algorithms for seeking solutions to equations and for factorization, and protocols for perfectly secure data transmission.
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