How Small Can Computers Get? Computing in a Molecule 143
ScienceDaily on what the future might bring for atomic-scale computing: "Joachim, the head of the CEMES Nanoscience and Picotechnology Group (GNS), is currently coordinating a team of researchers from 15 academic and industrial research institutes in Europe whose groundbreaking work on developing a molecular replacement for transistors has brought the vision of atomic-scale computing a step closer to reality. Their efforts, a continuation of work that began in the 1990s, are today being funded by the European Union in the Pico-Inside project. ... The team has managed to design a simple logic gate with 30 atoms that perform the same task as 14 transistors, while also exploring the architecture, technology, and chemistry needed to achieve computing inside a single molecule and to interconnect molecules."
No (or rather, probably not) (Score:2, Informative)
> is now more than exponentially larger?
It's impossible to tell if it's scaling linearly or exponentially or whatever from just one data point; however, unless the atoms are working in a totally different computing paradigm (like quantum computing), it's unlikely to be more than just a linear factor of improvement.
Re:well thats more just the processor... (Score:1, Informative)
The problem is synchronization of the electronics. When you reach a certain speed the speed of electron flow comes into play. Likewise the shape of the ramp than denotes the hi / low states becomes an issue. When you 'scope what you believe to be a square wave you'll see that the edge is not the 90 degree edge one tends to think these waveforms are.
Content-free article (Score:4, Informative)
I much prefer to read Eric Drexler's PhD thesis, Molecular Machinery and Manufacturing with Applications to Computing [mit.edu]. Chapter 11 (nanomechanical computational systems) is particularly interesting.
Re:How small can computers get? (Score:3, Informative)