The Limits of Information

TL;DR

This paper reviews the development of black hole thermodynamics, explores the conceptual foundations of black hole entropy, and discusses the implications for information bounds in physical systems.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of black hole thermodynamics evolution, emphasizing conceptual insights and the origin of information bounds.

Findings

Black holes have thermodynamic properties including entropy and temperature.

The entropy of black holes is proportional to their surface area.

Black hole thermodynamics informs bounds on information in physical systems.

Abstract

Black holes have their own thermodynamics including notions of entropy and temperature and versions of the three laws. After a light introduction to black hole physics, I recollect how black hole thermodynamics evolved in the 1970's, while at the same time stressing conceptual points which were given little thought at that time, such as why the entropy should be linear in the black hole's surface area. I also review a variety of attempts made over the years to provide a statistical mechanics for black hole thermodynamics. Finally, I discuss the origin of the information bounds for ordinary systems that have arisen as applications of black hole thermodynamics.