Understanding the thermodynamics of computation: a pedagogical overview
Article Type
Research Article
Publication Title
Quantum Information Processing
Abstract
Computation and information theory are fundamental across disciplines such as physics, computer science, chemistry, biology, and even philosophy. A central focus of research in computation is optimizing its cost, with energy being a key resource required to drive processes. The thermodynamic cost of computation has come into sharp focus, rooted in Landauer’s seminal work, which established that a computer consumes kBTln2 units of energy to erase one bit of information, where T is the system’s temperature and kB is Boltzmann’s constant. In this tutorial, we will first cover the fundamental concepts of computation in detail. Following that, we will explore their connection and significance from a thermodynamic perspective.
DOI
10.1007/s11128-025-04918-z
Publication Date
10-1-2025
Recommended Citation
Chattopadhyay, Pritam and Paul, Goutam, "Understanding the thermodynamics of computation: a pedagogical overview" (2025). Journal Articles. 5645.
https://digitalcommons.isical.ac.in/journal-articles/5645