Fundamental physical limits of technologies
Technologies leverage discoveries in fundamental sciences for practical purposes, enabling applications not previously attainable. Due to this foundation in fundamental sciences, all technologies have limits bounded by physics. Especially with the dizzying accelerating advancements, technologies can make it seem like they can make anything possible. However, these fundamental physical limits determine the boundaries in performance of all technologies.
Identifying these boundaries is a fruitful endeavor. It enables three things:
- It allows us to know how far we can go before we are limited by nature.
- It allows us to understand why our current technologies can’t perform better.
- Most importantly, it allows us to figure what we can do to make our technologies better.
To delineate fundamental physical limits of technologies, we need to start with delineating technologies themselves. Information technologies can be categorized into three groups based on their application domain:
- Computing technologies
- Communication technologies
- Sensing/metrology technologies.
Fundamental limits
There are various fundamental physical limits arising from quantum field theory and general relativity. There is only so much entropy or information you can squeeze into a space before it collapses into a black hole. There is only so much you can localize a particle before intrinsic uncertainty from quantum mechanics stop you from deciding where it is.
Computing limits
Computing is limited by the Bekenstein limit, quantum speed limit, Landauer limit.
Communication limits
Communication is limited by the Holevo limit, speed of light limit.
Sensing limits
Sensing is limited by the Heisenberg limit.