Can Matter be Converted to Information?

I know that matter can be converted to energy through E=mc^2. I also know that engery can be and has been converted to information through Landauer's principle (with Maxwell's demons). Does this mean that I can take a brick and covert it into information? (It is irrelivent if there is no known process yet)
- Josh (age 20)
Orlando, Fl

Hi Josh,

This is a pretty open question, since you didn't specify the process. But if you are looking for a general answer, then the answer is yes, of course.

Any physical system contains a pile of information (describing, for example, the positions and momentums of the particles, or for larger systems more complicated information).

Depending on how you measure it, you can extract various kinds of information; I don't think such a process requires E = mc^2 or Landauer's principle. 

David Schmid

(published on 04/21/2014)