
Chapter 11
Characterization of Quantum
Information
When we manipulate physical systems for various purposes, we are essentially
encoding and decoding the information content in those systems in precisely
defined terms tailored to our purpose. Conversationally speaking of informa-
tion, one thinks of the “new knowledge” gained when a particular physical
process is completed, such as watching television, reading an article, or mea-
suring the output voltage at the end of a circuit. When we get used to the idea
that information is not something abstract that is a result of cognition, but is
actually physically carried by the system that’s being observed