The widespread adoption of energy-intensive computing applications has emphasized the need to explore energy-efficient approaches. Thermodynamic computing provides a promising avenue for low-energy computation by leveraging the inherent computational capability of physical, chemical, or biological systems.
However, the mathematical foundations require further development in order to harness the potential energy-efficiencies and evaluate noise and operation speed characteristics.
In this paper, we present the mathematical foundations underlying the use of thermodynamic processes to perform mathematical operations, including addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and exponential functions. We highlight the application of chemical reactions as computational units. Synthetic chemical and biochemical systems are discussed as practical implementations, proposing how these principles can be used for solving complex mathematical problems, such as ordinary differential equations (ODEs). This work advances our understanding of the computational potential within thermodynamic processes and their scalability for next-generation computing.
Published: April 8, 2026
Citation
Cannon W.R., C.G. Johnson, N. Bohm Agostini, and A. Tumeo. 2026.A mathematical framework for thermodynamic computing with applications to chemical reaction networks.npj Unconventional Computing 3:Art. No. 16.PNNL-SA-216936.doi:10.1038/s44335-026-00057-5