6.050J Information, Entropy and Computation
2.110J Information, Entropy and Computation

Prereq: Physics I (GIR)
U (Spring)
4-0-5

Explores the ultimate limits to communication
and computation, with an emphasis on the
physical nature of information and information
processing. Topics include information and
computation, digital signals, codes, and
compression. Biological representations of
information. Logic circuits, computer
architectures, and algorithmic information.
Noise, probability, and error correction. The
concept of entropy applied to channel capacity
and to the second law of thermodynamics.
Reversible and irreversible operations and the
physics of computation. Quantum computation.

P. Penfield, Jr.,  S. Lloyd