The Margolus–Levitin theorem states that the processing rate of all forms of computation (including
quantum computation) cannot be higher than about 6 × 10
33 operations per second per
joule
The joule ( , ; symbol: J) is the unit of energy in the International System of Units (SI). It is equal to the amount of work done when a force of 1 newton displaces a mass through a distance of 1 metre in the direction of the force applie ...
of energy. The theorem is named for
Norman Margolus
Norman H. Margolus (born 1955) is a Canadian-American physicist and computer scientist, known for his work on cellular automata and reversible computing.. He is a research affiliate with the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laborator ...
and
Lev B. Levitin, who derived this fundamental limit on the rate of computation.
Stating the bound for one bit is as follows:
:A quantum system of energy ''E'' needs at least a time of
to go from one state to an orthogonal state, where ''h'' is the
Planck constant
The Planck constant, or Planck's constant, is a fundamental physical constant of foundational importance in quantum mechanics. The constant gives the relationship between the energy of a photon and its frequency, and by the mass-energy equivale ...
() and ''E'' is average energy.
See also
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Bekenstein bound
In physics, the Bekenstein bound (named after Jacob Bekenstein) is an upper limit on the thermodynamic entropy ''S'', or Shannon entropy ''H'', that can be contained within a given finite region of space which has a finite amount of energy—or c ...
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Bremermann's limit
Bremermann's limit, named after Hans-Joachim Bremermann, is a limit on the maximum rate of computation that can be achieved in a self-contained system in the material universe. It is derived from Einstein's mass-energy equivalency and the Heisenb ...
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Landauer's principle
Landauer's principle is a physical principle pertaining to the lower theoretical limit of energy consumption of computation. It holds that "any logically irreversible manipulation of information, such as the erasure of a bit or the merging of t ...
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Kolmogorov complexity
In algorithmic information theory (a subfield of computer science and mathematics), the Kolmogorov complexity of an object, such as a piece of text, is the length of a shortest computer program (in a predetermined programming language) that produ ...
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Koomey's law
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Limits to computation
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Moore's law
References
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Lloyd, Seth; Ng, Y. Jack,
Black Hole Computers, ''
Scientific American
''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many famous scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it. In print since 1845, it ...
'' (April 2007), p. 53–61
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Quantum information science
Limits of computation
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