dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaMaxwell's demon and the thermodynamics of computation
| Authors | J. Bub |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | quant-ph/0203017 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0203017 |
| Journal | Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 32, 569-579 (2001) |
Abstract
It is generally accepted, following Landauer and Bennett, that the process of measurement involves no minimum entropy cost, but the erasure of information in resetting the memory register of a computer to zero requires dissipating heat into the environment. This thesis has been challenged recently in a two-part article by Earman and Norton. I review some relevant observations in the thermodynamics of computation and argue that Earman and Norton are mistaken: there is in principle no entropy cost to the acquisition of information, but the destruction of information does involve an irreducible entropy cost.
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"abstract": "It is generally accepted, following Landauer and Bennett, that the process of\nmeasurement involves no minimum entropy cost, but the erasure of information in\nresetting the memory register of a computer to zero requires dissipating heat\ninto the environment. This thesis has been challenged recently in a two-part\narticle by Earman and Norton. I review some relevant observations in the\nthermodynamics of computation and argue that Earman and Norton are mistaken:\nthere is in principle no entropy cost to the acquisition of information, but\nthe destruction of information does involve an irreducible entropy cost.",
"arxiv_id": "quant-ph/0203017",
"authors": [
"J. Bub"
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"journal_ref": "Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 32, 569-579\n (2001)",
"title": "Maxwell\u0027s demon and the thermodynamics of computation",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0203017"
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