Chapter 3.2, Problem 16P

A bit of computer memory is some physical object that can be in two different states, often interpreted a. 0 and 1. A byte is eight bits, a kilobyte is $1024\left(=2^{10}\right)$ bytes, a megabyte is 1024 kilobytes, and gigabyte is 1024 megabytes.

(a) Suppose that your computer erases or overwrites one gigabyte of memory, keeping no record of the information that was stored. Explain why this process must create a certain minimum amount of entropy, and calculate how much.

(b) If this entropy is dumped into an environment at room temperature, how much heat must come along with it? Is this amount of heat significant?