The Physics of Information Technology

The Physics of Information Technology explores the familiar devices that we use to collect transform transmit and interact with electronic information. Many such devices operate surprisingly close to very many fundamental physical limits. Understanding how such devices work and how they can (and cannot) be improved requires deep insight into the character of physical law as well as engineering practice. The book starts with an introduction to units forces and the probabilistic foundations of noise and signalling then progresses through the electromagnetics of wired and wireless communications and the quantum mechanics of electronic optical and magnetic materials to discussions of mechanisms for computation storage sensing and display. This self-contained volume will help both physical scientists and computer scientists see beyond the conventional division between hardware and software to understand the implications of physical theory for information manipulation.