The cost of computation

Science Daily  April 8, 2019
An international team of researchers (USA – Arizona State University, Santa Fe Institute, Austria) reviews some of the recent work on the ‘stochastic thermodynamics of computation. After reviewing the salient parts of information theory, computer science theory, and stochastic thermodynamics, they summarize what has been learned about the entropic costs of performing a broad range of computations, extending from bit erasure to loop-free circuits to logically reversible circuits to information ratchets to Turing machines. These results reveal new, challenging engineering problems for how to design computers to have minimal thermodynamic costs. They also allow us to start to combine computer science theory and stochastic thermodynamics at a foundational level, thereby expanding both. Can biological systems, for example, serve as inspiration for designing computers with minimal thermodynamic cost?…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE