Brain-Inspired Computer Made From Duroquinone 77
hasu notes that scientists at the National Institute for Materials Science at Tsukuba in Japan have created a device, consisting of 17 duroquinone molecules on a gold surface, that can in theory encode 4.3 billion outcomes. The "device" does not constitute a practical computer, since it requires both a scanning tunneling microscope and operation near absolute zero. A single duroquinone is surrounded by sixteen others, and weak chemical bonds allow a pulse to the central molecule to shift all seventeen molecules in a variety of ways. Each duroquinone has four different "settings," so a single pulse can have 4^16 possible outcomes. As a demonstration the researchers docked 8 other nano-devices to their 17-molecule computer. It is unclear how well they have characterized the inputs that result in 4.3 billion different outputs. They are working on a 3D design that would have 1,024 duroquinone molecules surrounding a central one.
Re:Elaboration Please (Score:2, Insightful)
It means bring your coat [wikipedia.org]...
Wow, 4.3 billion states? (Score:4, Insightful)
Is this really a computer? Or 32 bits worth of really impractical memory?
Re:Wow, 4.3 billion states? (Score:4, Insightful)
You noticed that as well. I replied as much to a post above. Scientists have ways of making their "discoveries" seem much more impressive than they really are. It helps keep the grant money coming in. After all, which sounds more impressive?
"I've made a 32 bit register that requires a room-size microscope and refrigerator to operate."
"I've made a molecular 'brain' that holds over FOUR BILLION states!"
Well... (Score:4, Insightful)