---
title: Researcher’s New Book Puts Physics’ Past and Future in Literary Blender
date: 2022-04-12T05:30:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/researchers-new-book-puts-physics-past-and-future-in-literary-blender"
section: Articles
---
# Researcher’s New Book Puts Physics’ Past and Future in Literary Blender

*April 12, 2022* — by [Chris Carroll](/author/chris-carroll)


> Sci-Fi Excursions Enliven Deep Dive Into Quantum Thermodynamics

*Nicole Yunger Halpern 11162021 JC 3291 1920x1080 — Theoretical physicist Nicole Yunger Halpern donned a steampunk costume for a photo shoot in preparation for the release of her new book on "quantum steampunk," about Victorian physics viewed through a 21st-century scientific lens. Below, she works with students in her Quantum-Steampunk Laboratory, focused on quantum thermodynamics.*

The once-futuristic science of steam engines and airships seems rather quaint these days, at least when stacked up against newer varieties of physics now grabbing the spotlight. (Psst, ever heard of quantum?)

University of Maryland and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) researcher Nicole Yunger Halpern’s theoretical work blends the two eras, examining older questions from the field of thermodynamics—like heat transfer or work output—through the 21st-century lens of quantum information. Applications include quantum engines, even a quantum refrigerator she’s collaborating on with partners in Europe. Not for chilling the ham sandwiches of tomorrow, mind you, but instead using quantum effects to keep a revolutionary new breed of computer processors as frosty as required.


*"Quantum Steampunk: The Physics of Yesterday's Tomorrow" book cover*


*Nicole Yunger Halpern teaches students*




**Topics:** [Research](https://today.umd.edu/tags/research)


**Tags:** [Books](https://today.umd.edu/topic/books), [Physics](https://today.umd.edu/topic/physics), [Quantum Science](https://today.umd.edu/topic/quantum-science), [Research](https://today.umd.edu/topic/research)


**Units:** [College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences](https://today.umd.edu/topic/college-computer-mathematical-and-natural-sciences)