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Editor's note (6/1/2011): We are making the text of this July 1985 article freely available for 30 days to coincide with the publication of a paper on entropy and quantum systems by Vlatko Vedral. He authored our June 2011 cover story and blogs about his latest work , which discusses the research featured in this 1985 article. A computation, whether it is performed by electronic machinery, on an abacus or in a biological system such as the brain, is a physical process

An international research team has successfully developed a widely applicable method for discovering the physical foundations of complex fluids for the first time. Researchers at the University of Vienna and University of Rome have developed a microscopic theory that describes the interactions between the various components of a complex polymer mixture. This approach has now been experimentally proven by physicists from Julich, who conducted neutron scattering experiments in Grenoble

The move toward smarter, lighter and more powerful electronics, computers and smartphones depends on whether transistor circuits, the building blocks of such devices, can process large amounts of information.

(PhysOrg.com) -- In the future, physicists will be able to follow a new lead in their search for new materials for electronic components, for example.

(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of researchers have used a mathematical equation to create a so called "rogue" wave; the giant kind that appear out of nowhere in the open ocean to topple ships and drown their crews. Using one solution to the non-linear Schroedinger equation; the Peregrine solution; first discovered in 1983, the team of researchers have published a paper in Physical Review Letters, where they describe how by using paddles and a water tank, they were able to create a miniature version of a rogue wave in their lab.

(PhysOrg.com) -- Does helium-4 become a "supersolid" near absolute zero? What previous researchers thought might be a supersolid transition is better explained by changes in the solid's resistance to shearing, according to new research by J.

(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at Yale University have succeeded in building a new kind of laser based on the way brightly colored birds show their colors. Building on the new approach to creating laser beams, whereby holes are drilled in a material in such a way as to trap light inside for a long enough period of time to create the laser light they are after, researchers Hui Cao, Heeso Noh and their colleagues describe in a paper they've published in Physical Review Letters, how they've emulated the way birds use air holes to display their colors.

When the U.S. military attacked Iraq in March 2003, it brought to bear the most advanced technology then available for identifying potential terrorists by their physical features. The equipment measured all sorts of physical features--from fingerprints to images of the retina--but it was not particularly easy to use.

Hosting an event can easily cost companies thousands, even millions of dollars—and the bills rack up fast.

(PhysOrg.com) -- The concept of time as a way to measure the duration of events is not only deeply intuitive, it also plays an important role in our mathematical descriptions of physical systems. For instance, we define an object’s speed as its displacement per a given time

In 1964, physicist Richard Feynman delivered a series of lectures titled “On the Nature of Physical Law.” Feynman delivered these seven one-hour lectures at Cornell in 1964, and the BBC taped them.

How do great managers cultivate excellent performances so consistently? Sometimes it's about moving a star into a supporting role. We continue our Leadership Hall of Fame series, a year-long look at the top business books and authors, with an excerpt from First, Break All the Rules (1999) by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman.

Looking at the numbers, one might be discouraged. IBISWorld's predictions show the physical therapy industry might barely grow through the rest of 2011

"When will we know when we can declare victory?

Controlling the physical properties of the surfaces of materials, such as metals, is critical for industrial applications ranging non-stick frying pans to the fuselage of aircraft.