Traces of physics in computing

Abstract

This paper introduces and explains cyber physics, which we define as mathematical equations, i.e., physics-like laws, that control, regulate, or otherwise govern the inner workings of the hardware architecture, operating system, application code, algorithms, and networks on a classical computing machine. Cyber physics integrates computer science with conventional physics, in particular with quantum physics, thermodynamics, and statistical mechanics. Naturally, the technical description of cyber physics in the paper draws on both of these fields of science.

Graphical abstract