It i s argued that computing machines inevitably involve devices which perform logical functions that do not have a single-valued inverse. This logical irreversibility i s associated with physical irreversibility and requires a minimal heat generation, per machine cycle, typically of the order of kT for each irreversible function. This dissipation serves the purpose of standardizing signals and...

Irreversibility is one of the most intriguing concepts in physics. While microscopic physical laws are perfectly reversible, macroscopic average behavior has a preferred direction of time. According to the second law of thermodynamics, this arrow of time is associated with a positive mean entropy production. Using a nuclear magnetic resonance setup, we measure the nonequilibrium entropy produce...

Abstract The paper analyzes strategic behavior in a two-stage environmental choice problem under di¤erent information scenarios. Given uncertainty about environmental cost and irreversibility of development, “learning without destroying”emerges from strategic competition when information is endogenous and publicly available. This happens since agents trade o¤ the higher payo¤of being the …rst-m...

One of the important problems of high-temperature superconductivity is to understand and ultimately to control fluxoid motion. Here we present data on the pressure dependence of the irreversibility line measured up to 2.5 GPa. We observe that the application of pressure changes the interplanar coupling by decreasing the c-axis length, without significantly disturbing the intraplanar superconduc...