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by maxander 1573 days ago
Energy consumption would be limited by supply and energy dissipation, and energy dissipation (roughly speaking) depends on surface area and thermal conductivity. So, yes, for all devices made with a given shape and given materials, there is such an equation.

In theory, I guess, there’s also such an equation for the “upper limit” of heat dissipation for size, for a computer using the optimal shape and optimal materials. But since that probably concerns several-atom-thick devices made of diamond or something, that’s probably not practically useful anytime soon. :)