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Why Do Computers Use So Much Energy?

It’s possible they could be vastly more efficient, but for that to happen we need to better understand the thermodynamics of computing

By David Wolpert

Via Scientific American

• https://getpocket.com/explore/item/why-do-computers-use-so-much-energy

Precise estimates vary, but currently about 5 percent of all energy consumption in the U.S. goes just to running computers...

Why do computers use so much energy in the first place? What are the fundamental physical laws governing the relationship between the precise computation a system runs and how much energy it requires? Can we make our computers more energy-efficient by redesigning how they implement their algorithms?

These are some of the issues my collaborators and I are grappling with in an ongoing research project at the Santa Fe Institute.

Thermodynamics of Computation

Santa Fe Institute: Collaboration Platform Wiki

Santa Fe Institute: Collaboration Researchers

Santa Fe Institute Press

• https://santafe.edu/research/sfi-press

• https://santafe.edu/news-center/news

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