Quantum qubit, DNA, molecular computers...
coming soon to a store near you....We are up to 3 qubits now in the quantum arena..article in USA today..few days ago.
Another article relates the electrical conductivity of DNA..and possible usages in computers.
Now molecular computing..
Mini Circuits May Speed Computers
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Researchers have developed a chemical process
that could lead to computer components no thicker than a single molecule, an
important step toward the creation of new, ultrafast machines.
The team from the Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HWP - news) and the
University of California at Los Angeles say their work could ultimately lead to computers 100 billion
times faster than today's most powerful personal computers. Their findings were published today in
Science magazine.
Until now, integrated circuits - the on-off switches that are the basis for computing - have been made
by etching silicon wafers with beams of light. The ability to shrink those circuits is limited by the
wavelength of light.
But the researchers said they found a way to construct the circuits using a chemical process, making
the switches as small as a molecule. They believe the process could lead to components much
smaller than today's smallest transistors.
''This is about as small as we're going to get things,'' Phil Kuekes, a physicist and computer designer
at Hewlett-Packard, said today in a phone interview from the computer giant's headquarters in Palo
Alto.
Smaller transistors consume less power and generally switch on and off more quickly. They also can
be produced in greater quantities without raising production costs.
Although still a long way off, researches say the possible applications are endless.
''Imagine millions of tiny computers everywhere in our lives. Tiny probes in the body, monitoring
body functions - perhaps a very sophisticated pace maker,'' said Eric Wong, a UCLA researcher
involved in the project.
The research team used chemicals to coax molecules with the necessary electrical characteristics into
specific positions, much like getting puzzle pieces into the right positions.
The researchers said their findings are only a first step. For example, the current device can switch
only from one state to another and cannot switch repeatedly, which it must do if it is to replace
silicon-based chips.
Still, computer researchers lauded the advance, calling it a sign of the rapid acceleration of a new
field known as moletronics or molecular electronics.
The technology might eventually replicate the power of 100 computer work stations in a space the
size of a grain of salt, according to the scientists on the team.
''What we have here for the first time is a molecular device that is a real technology - not just an
isolated device,'' said James R. Heath, professor of chemistry at UCLA, who led the team. ''This is
a real step toward making a molecular computer.''
The technology also is promising as a means of prolonging the electronics boom. As advances in
silicon chip technology approach its physical limit - expected within 15 years - molecular electronics
could continue the steady rise in computing power.
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Best, Savant
PS..shouldn't that last link been www.sitathome? LOL |
