Will Quantum Knowledge Cool Supercomputers?
Whether data is processed or deleted in computers, both consume energy. The energy is released as heat. A study has now shown that the heat forming can be avoided, and, in an extreme case, cold can be created – a glimmer of hope for supercomputer centres.
The deletion of data, under certain conditions, can create a cooling effect instead of generating heat. The cooling effect appears when the strange quantum phenomenon of entanglement is invoked. (Artistic view of quantum computing: superposing pictures of an integrated circuit and atoms.)