Fred Foldvary wrote > > There are ultimate physical limits on the speed of data processing,
Jon Cast wrote: > Are there? I mean, there are limits on how fast silicon can go, > but are there real limits on how fast /any/ material can go? Divide the diameter of a neutron by the speed of light: you probably can't make a gate flip in less time than that. > > but I don't see why there are any limits on computer programs, > > and thus no limit to software technology, even given hardware > > constraints. > > Actually, there are hard limits on certain software technologies, > same as for hardware. Comparison-based sorting can't use less > than O(n log(n)) comparisons, for example. [...] Quantum computing will break some of the rules, but it won't remove all limits. -- Anton Sherwood, http://www.ogre.nu/
