Quantum knowledge cools computers: New understanding of entropy
Wednesday, June 1, 2011 - 14:30
in Physics & Chemistry
From a laptop warming a knee to a supercomputer heating a room, the fact that computers generate heat is familiar to everyone. But theoretical physicists have discovered something astonishing: not only do computational processes sometimes generate no heat, under certain conditions they can even have a cooling effect. Behind this finding are fundamental considerations relating to knowledge and a lack of knowledge.