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Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!ll-xn!cit-vax!mangler
From: mangler@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu (System Mangler)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Subject: Re: bits to /dev/null, and dissipationless computing
Message-ID: <2883@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu>
Date: Sun, 31-May-87 05:30:01 EDT
Article-I.D.: cit-vax.2883
Posted: Sun May 31 05:30:01 1987
Date-Received: Tue, 2-Jun-87 01:28:01 EDT
References: <7505@brl-adm.ARPA>
Organization: California Institute of Technology
Lines: 17
Summary: no lower limit

In article <7505@brl-adm.ARPA>, roberts@icst-ecf.arpa writes:
> A few years ago, an article was circulated pertaining to the question
> of whether or not it is theoretically possible to construct a device
> which performs computations with zero net dissipation of energy.

Only a few years ago, it was thought that there was a lower limit.
Now it is generally believed that energy dissipation can be made
arbitrarily low, either by doing the computation slowly enough,
or reducing the temperature enough.  (The latter is cheating,
because you're really just moved the energy dissipation to the
refrigeration unit).

Reference:
    "1985 Chapel Hill Conference on VLSI", Ed: Henry Fuchs,
Computer Science Press, Rockville Maryland, 1985; pp 1-3.

Don Speck   speck@vlsi.caltech.edu  {seismo,rutgers,ames}!cit-vax!speck