When does a physical system compute?

Horsman, Clare and Stepney, Susan and Wagner, Rob C. and Kendon, Viv (2014) When does a physical system compute? Proceedings of the Royal Society A : Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 470 (2169). pp. 1-25. ISSN 1471-2946 (https://doi.org/10.1098/rspa.2014.0182)

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Abstract

Computing is a high-level process of a physical system. Recent interest in non-standard computing systems, including quantum and biological computers, has brought this physical basis of computing to the forefront. There has been, however, no consensus on how to tell if a given physical system is acting as a computer or not; leading to confusion over novel computational devices, and even claims that every physical event is a computation. In this paper, we introduce a formal framework that can be used to determine whether a physical system is performing a computation. We demonstrate how the abstract computational level interacts with the physical device level, in comparison with the use of mathematical models in experimental science. This powerful formulation allows a precise description of experiments, technology, computation and simulation, giving our central conclusion: physical computing is the use of a physical system to predict the outcome of an abstract evolution. We give conditions for computing, illustrated using a range of nonstandard computing scenarios. The framework also covers broader computing contexts, where there is no obvious human computer user. We introduce the notion of a 'computational entity', and its critical role in defining when computing is taking place in physical systems.

  • Item type:Article
    ID code:78929
    Dates:
    Date
    Event
    8 September 2014
    Published
    11 June 2014
    Accepted
    Notes:© 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved. Funding details: Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, EPSRC, EP/G004544/3, EP/J008249/1, EP/J008249/2
    Subjects:Science > Physics
    Department:Faculty of Science > Physics
    Depositing user: Pure Administrator
    Date deposited:16 Dec 2021 11:27
    Last modified:09 Apr 2024 02:53
    Related URLs:
    URI:https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/id/eprint/78929
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