  When can a model of a physical system be regarded as computable? We provide
the definition of a computable physical model to answer this question. The
connection between our definition and Kreisel's notion of a mechanistic theory
is discussed, and several examples of computable physical models are given,
including models which feature discrete motion, a model which features
non-discrete continuous motion, and probabilistic models such as radioactive
decay. We show how computable physical models on effective topological spaces
can be formulated using the theory of type-two effectivity (TTE). Various
common operations on computable physical models are described, such as the
operation of coarse-graining and the formation of statistical ensembles. The
definition of a computable physical model also allows for a precise
formalization of the computable universe hypothesis--the claim that all the
laws of physics are computable.
