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Computing Speed Limit
By Gerhard Adam | October 12th 2009 02:17 PM | 2 comments | Print | E-mail | Track Comments
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It seems that some people have misinterpreted the recent publication of Levitin and Toffoli's paper as implying that somehow there are alternative technologies or approaches that can salvage Moore's Law.  This is incorrect.

"In the early 1980s, Levitin singled out a quantum elementary operation, the most basic task a quantum computer could carry out. In a paper published today in the journal Physical Review Letters, Levitin and Toffoli present an equation for the minimum sliver of time it takes for this elementary operation to occur. This establishes the speed limit for all possible computers (emphasis added)."
http://www.livescience.com/technology/091009-computer-speed.html

The point is that there are no silver bullets or ways in which this limit can be circumvented.  It is based on the most fundamental operation that can occur.  Unless a new quantum theory is developed, this limit represents a natural boundary that cannot be crossed by architecture or technology.


Comments

hi,
The speed of computer is depend on it's processor,Storage capacity and which os you can use in it.it can also depend on the work which work you can done...

r4 games (not verified) | 10/29/09 | 02:13 AM
Gerhard Adam's picture
Actually you're referring to the impediments to achieving the rated speed which is a factor in how quickly work can be processed.  In other words, storage capacity and operating systems are overhead costs if they are constrained in any way.  If there is no constraint, then those resources can't speed anything up beyond the clock speed of the processor time per instruction.

However, the point is that there is a finite time for a quantum event, which says that IF quantum computers are ever built, then there is a limit to the speed that can be attained regardless of architecture.

Gerhard Adam | 10/29/09 | 02:34 AM

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