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The Landauer Principle in Physics, Biophysics, Engineering and Computer Science: From Foundations of Thermodynamics to Computer Engineering

A Special Issue of Entropy (ISSN 1099-4300) belonging to the section "Thermodynamics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 April 2027 | Viewed by 8207

Editor

Prof. Dr. Edward Bormashenko

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Chemical Engineering Department, Engineering Sciences Faculty, Ariel University, Ariel 407000, Israel
Interests: surface science; polymer science; cold plasma technologies; surface characterization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Landauer principle connects information and thermodynamics — it says that erasing information has an unavoidable physical cost in terms of energy.

The Landauer Principle establishes:

  • Fundamental limits of computing: It shows there’s a minimum amount of energy any computer must use when it erases information — no matter how perfect the technology is.
  • Energy efficiency: As computers get smaller and faster, understanding these limits becomes crucial for building ultra-efficient (and possibly quantum) computers.
  • Deep link between physics and information: It proves that information isn’t just an abstract object — it’s physical. Handling information always involves real, physical processes.
  • Entropy and the second law: The Landauer Principle ties into the second law of thermodynamics — when you erase information, you increase the disorder (entropy) of the environment by producing heat.

This Special Issue aims to present different approaches to the implementation of the Landauer principle in physics, biophysics and computer science. Submissions addressing engineering applications of the Landauer principle are especially welcome. Review papers are encouraged.

Prof. Dr. Edward Bormashenko
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Entropy is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Landauer principle
  • entropy
  • information
  • the second law of thermodynamics

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Related Special Issues

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

26 pages, 1157 KB  
Article
The Measurement Problem in the Thermodynamics of Black Holes
by Jeroen Schoenmaker
Entropy 2026, 28(7), 808; https://doi.org/10.3390/e28070808 - 15 Jul 2026
Viewed by 806
Abstract
This manuscript gives a solution to the black hole information paradox by bringing to the debate a fundamental aspect of information science: the process of measurement by a receiver. Bekenstein and Hawking established the foundations of black hole thermodynamics based on previous works [...] Read more.
This manuscript gives a solution to the black hole information paradox by bringing to the debate a fundamental aspect of information science: the process of measurement by a receiver. Bekenstein and Hawking established the foundations of black hole thermodynamics based on previous works of Brillouin and Szilard on information physics. In this work, we demonstrate that the relation between energy and information established in communication technology by Shannon and Landauer has not been adequately applied to black hole physics. As Landauer states, a computation process is closely akin to a measurement. Our argument is grounded on the physical concepts of measurement, signal-to-noise ratio, energy dissipation during the switching process in computation, and hysteresis loops. We give special attention to the role of noise and energy dissipation in the process of information transmission. We demonstrate that Szilard’s work fails to establish a connection between information and entropy in agreement with the works of Landauer and Shannon. We also demonstrate that a quantum state cannot be directly equivalent to a unit of information. The entropy and temperature attributed to black holes are questioned, and a solution to the black hole information paradox is provided. Similarly to what happens with Maxwell’s demon, the black hole information paradox is “exorcised” once we account for the process of measurement and information processing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Landauer Principle in Physics, Biophysics, Engineering and Computer Science: From Foundations of Thermodynamics to Computer Engineering)
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15 pages, 303 KB  
Article
Thermodynamic Limits of Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computing Beyond the Weak-Coupling, Quasistatic Regime
by Mrittunjoy Guha Majumdar
Entropy 2026, 28(5), 546; https://doi.org/10.3390/e28050546 - 11 May 2026
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 764
Abstract
The standard Landauer bound W≥kBTln2 sets the fundamental thermodynamic cost for information erasure under ideal conditions: weak system–bath coupling, quasistatic operation, and equilibrium reservoirs. However, realistic quantum error correction (QEC) operates in a profoundly different regime—finite-time syndrome [...] Read more.
The standard Landauer bound W≥kBTln2 sets the fundamental thermodynamic cost for information erasure under ideal conditions: weak system–bath coupling, quasistatic operation, and equilibrium reservoirs. However, realistic quantum error correction (QEC) operates in a profoundly different regime—finite-time syndrome extraction, strong coupling to cryogenic environments, and non-equilibrium dynamics. Here, we develop a unified thermodynamic framework for fault-tolerant quantum computing that incorporates corrections beyond the ideal Landauer limit. We derive a generalized bound on the heat dissipation per QEC cycle: Qmin≥kBTln2+kBTΔISB+ℏτ, and scaling this result to large-scale quantum computers, we find that the total heat load grows polynomially with code distance but remains in the nanowatt range for million-qubit systems—well within the cooling power of modern dilution refrigerators. Applying our model to superconducting qubit architectures, we show that while strong coupling can add up to ∼20% to the ideal cost, finite-time effects contribute approximately 0.55% at 100 ns and 5.5% at 10 ns reset operations. Our results establish that the true thermodynamic cost of fault tolerance, while exceeding the naive Landauer estimate, does not pose a fundamental obstacle to scalability; the dominant engineering challenges lie in the heat load of control electronics and wiring, not in the fundamental dissipation of qubit reset. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Landauer Principle in Physics, Biophysics, Engineering and Computer Science: From Foundations of Thermodynamics to Computer Engineering)
15 pages, 1341 KB  
Article
The Wave–Particle Dualism of Photons as Seen from an Informational Point of View
by J. Gerhard Müller
Entropy 2025, 27(10), 1037; https://doi.org/10.3390/e27101037 - 3 Oct 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3444
Abstract
This paper deals with J. A. Wheeler’s proposal that each piece of reality owes its existence to observation—an approach to physics, which implies that all physical entities at their bottom are informational in character. Focusing on the double-slit experiment with photons, which is [...] Read more.
This paper deals with J. A. Wheeler’s proposal that each piece of reality owes its existence to observation—an approach to physics, which implies that all physical entities at their bottom are informational in character. Focusing on the double-slit experiment with photons, which is the key evidence for the wave–particle dualism of photons, this paper follows Wheeler’s observational approach and interprets this experiment as a question posed to nature. Considering how the enquiry regarding the wave–particle duality of photons is answered by nature, it is shown that experimental questions are being answered by nature in the form of spatiotemporal patterns of elementary observations (EOs) which are binary pieces of information, produced by the dissipation of energy. Working through this line of thought, Wheeler’s statements of “binary information gain”, “observer participance” and the “impossibility of continuum idealizations of physical laws” are elucidated and connections to the Landauer Principle are made. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Landauer Principle in Physics, Biophysics, Engineering and Computer Science: From Foundations of Thermodynamics to Computer Engineering)
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12 pages, 2038 KB  
Article
Landauer Principle and Einstein Synchronization of Clocks: Ramsey Approach
by Edward Bormashenko and Michael Nosonovsky
Entropy 2025, 27(7), 697; https://doi.org/10.3390/e27070697 - 29 Jun 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1996
Abstract
We introduce a synchronization procedure for clocks based on the Einstein–Landauer framework. Clocks are modeled as discrete, macroscopic devices operating at a thermal equilibrium temperature T. Synchronization is achieved by transmitting photons from one clock to another; the absorption of a photon [...] Read more.
We introduce a synchronization procedure for clocks based on the Einstein–Landauer framework. Clocks are modeled as discrete, macroscopic devices operating at a thermal equilibrium temperature T. Synchronization is achieved by transmitting photons from one clock to another; the absorption of a photon by a clock reduces the uncertainty in its timekeeping. The minimum energy required for this reduction in uncertainty is determined by the Landauer bound. We distinguish between the time-bearing and non-time-bearing degrees of freedom of the clocks. A reduction in uncertainty under synchronization in the time-bearing degrees of freedom necessarily leads to heat dissipation in the non-time-bearing ones. The minimum energy dissipation in these non-time-bearing degrees of freedom is likewise given by the Landauer limit. The same is true for mechanical synchronization of clocks. We also consider lattices of clocks and analyze synchronization using a Ramsey graph approach. Notably, clocks operating at the same temperature may be synchronized using photons of different frequencies. Each clock is categorized as either synchronized or non-synchronized, resulting in a bi-colored complete graph of clocks. By Ramsey’s theorem, such a graph inevitably contains a triad (or loop) of clocks that are either all synchronized or all non-synchronized. The extension of the Ramsey approach to infinite lattices of clocks is reported. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Landauer Principle in Physics, Biophysics, Engineering and Computer Science: From Foundations of Thermodynamics to Computer Engineering)
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