The Neglect of Fluctuations in the Thermodynamics of Computation
MCMP – Philosophy of Physics
English - November 06, 2013 14:21 - 1 hour - 972 MB Video - ★★★★★ - 3 ratingsPhilosophy Society & Culture philosophy logic science language mathematics hannes leitgeb stephan hartmann mcmp lmu Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
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John D. Norton (Pittsburgh) gives a talk at the 17th UK and European Meeting on the Foundations of Physics (29-31 July, 2013) titled "The Neglect of Fluctuations in the Thermodynamics of Computation". Abstract: The thermodynamics of computation assumes that thermodynamically reversible processes can be realized arbitrarily closely at molecular scales. They cannot. Overcoming fluctuations so that a molecular scale process can be completed creates more thermodynamic entropy than the small quantities tracked by Landauer's Principle. This no go result is the latest instance of a rich history of problems posed by fluctuations for thermodynamics.