Astrophysics
What is the computational capacity of our universe? (# 23)
Circumstantial evidence supporting the hypothesis that our universe behaves as if it is a quantum computer comes from comparing the mass of the universe estimated with the mass associated with bits of information and the mass of the universe based on the mass of hydrogen atoms.
The volume of the observable universe according to Wolfram Alpha is:
3.57 * 10^80 cubic metres.
Recent research suggests:
“if all the matter in the universe were spread out evenly across space, it would correspond to an average mass density equal to only about six hydrogen atoms per cubic meter.”
The mass of a hydrogen atom is 1.67 * 10^–24 grams.
So the mass of the universe is 3.57 * 10^80 * 6 * 1.67 * 10^–24 grams = 3.58 * 10^54 kg.
Other estimates of the mass of the universe vary between 10^53 kg to 10^60 kg.
Dr. Melvin Vopson argues that information has mass. Based on Landauer’s Principle for each bit of information lost irreversibly, the entropy of a system must increase with an absolute value of heat released per bit lost. When this principle is combined with Einstein’s equation E = mc², the mass of a bit of information can be calculated from…
