dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaUltimate physical limits to computation
| Authors | Seth Lloyd |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | quant-ph/9908043 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/9908043 |
| DOI | 10.1038/35023282 |
Abstract
Computers are physical systems: what they can and cannot do is dictated by the laws of physics. In particular, the speed with which a physical device can process information is limited by its energy and the amount of information that it can process is limited by the number of degrees of freedom it possesses. This paper explores the physical limits of computation as determined by the speed of light $c$, the quantum scale $\hbar$ and the gravitational constant $G$. As an example, quantitative bounds are put to the computational power of an `ultimate laptop' with a mass of one kilogram confined to a volume of one liter.
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"abstract": "Computers are physical systems: what they can and cannot do is dictated by\nthe laws of physics. In particular, the speed with which a physical device can\nprocess information is limited by its energy and the amount of information that\nit can process is limited by the number of degrees of freedom it possesses.\nThis paper explores the physical limits of computation as determined by the\nspeed of light $c$, the quantum scale $\\hbar$ and the gravitational constant\n$G$. As an example, quantitative bounds are put to the computational power of\nan `ultimate laptop\u0027 with a mass of one kilogram confined to a volume of one\nliter.",
"arxiv_id": "quant-ph/9908043",
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"Seth Lloyd"
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"doi": "10.1038/35023282",
"title": "Ultimate physical limits to computation",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/9908043"
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