Maxwell's demon and the thermodynamics of computation

dc.creatorBub, J.
dc.date2002-03-05
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-07T06:03:47Z
dc.date.available2026-07-07T06:03:47Z
dc.descriptionIt 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.
dc.description13 pages
dc.identifierhttps://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0203017
dc.identifierhttp://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0203017
dc.identifierStudies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 32, 569-579 (2001)
dc.identifier.urihttp://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/90073
dc.subjectQuantum Physics
dc.titleMaxwell's demon and the thermodynamics of computation
dc.typetext

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