How Far Can We Push Computing?
By Volkan Gurses | October 19, 2026
The Scaling Era and Its Ceiling
Today, the biggest advances in computing come from scaling up: squeezing more chips into ever-larger data centers. But as we approach the ceiling of what we can physically build, there remains substantial room below—at the fundamental physical limits of computation itself.
Revisiting Feynman's Vision
Richard Feynman, speaking at CERN in 1965, once asked how far we could push computing. His question remains as relevant as ever in 2026, as the industry confronts the practical constraints of energy, heat, and materials.
The Limits Below
While current engineering focuses on packing more transistors into denser configurations, the theoretical limits of computation—such as the Landauer limit and reversible computing—suggest that today's machines are still far from fundamental physical boundaries. Exploring these limits could unlock new paradigms for efficiency and performance in the years ahead.