Physical one-way functions for decentralized consensus via proof of physical work

Physical one-way functions for decentralized consensus via proof of physical work | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Physical one-way functions for decentralized consensus via proof of physical work Frank Rhein, Marvin Winkler, Catharina Peither, Simon Petrick, and 6 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4488816/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Decentralized consensus on the state of the Bitcoin blockchain is ensured by proofs of work. It relies on digital one-way functions and is associated with an enormous environmental impact. This paper conceptualizes a physical one-way function that aims to transform a digital, electricity-consuming consensus mechanism into a physical process. Boundary conditions for the security requirements are established and discussed as well as experimentally investigated for a specific setup based on printing and optical analysis of pigment-carrier composites. In the context of the applied methods, this setup promises to be mathematically unclonable, steady, reproducible, collision resistant and non-invertible and illustrates the feasibility of a physical one-way function. Based on this, a framework for a proof of physical work is conceptualized, which has the potential of a drastically lower CO2 footprint. This work initiates a progressive, interdisciplinary field of research and demands further investigations with regards to alternative setups, security definitions and strategies of challenging them. Physical sciences/Chemistry/Physical chemistry/Optical spectroscopy/Spectrophotometry Physical sciences/Materials science/Nanoscale materials/Nanoparticles Full Text Additional Declarations Yes there is potential Competing Interest. Frank Kleine Jäger, Lothar Seidemann and Holger Jelich are currently employed by the funding organization BASF SE. As partially cited in the text, the following relevant patents have been filed: WO2023/094341A1, WO2021/001147A1, WO2022/117626A1, WO2022/223536A1, WO2022/002956A2, WO2022/194850A1, WO2023/144360A1. All other authors affiliated with KIT declare no financial or non-financial competing interests and are not associated with any of the mentioned patents. The experimental investigations and data analysis were performed at KIT without any governance, control or influence of BASF SE and associated authors. Hence, the conducted research is unbiased by financial interest, which is exemplified at various points in the article, where it is emphasized that an arbitrary number of physical one-way functions (i.e. other than the presented one associated with the mentioned patents) are conceivable and should be investigated. Supplementary Files InitialSubmissionSI240701.pdf Supplementary Materials Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4488816","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":322316847,"identity":"efa49340-fcd2-432d-a416-ae50275b11c7","order_by":0,"name":"Frank 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