Alladi Ramakrishnan Hall

Physics of the bit

Manoj Gopalkrishnan

STCS, TIFR Mumbai

Our daily experiences with life and silicon constantly remind us that computation requires energy. Prima facie, an attractive analogy with steam engines suggests itself -- perhaps computers are machines to convert energy into "computational work." On the other hand, careful analysis by Charles Bennett has led him to suggest that computation can be done for arbitrarily little energy per step. I will describe the first steps of a research program that draws on non-equilibrium stochastic thermodynamics and computational complexity theory to seek to reconcile this apparent conflict. The program also suggests fundamental physical limits to the performance of batteries.