Bubble Powered Computer
by Bridgett Barnhill
A computer that carries out calculations using tiny bubbles instead of electricity has been developed by US researchers.
The “microfluidic” computer performs calculation by squeezing bubbles through tiny channels etched into a chip. It can perform all of the logical operations needed to make a general-purpose computer.
In practice, such a computer would be much bigger than a PC and about a thousand times slower. Nevertheless, the bubble-based computer could lead to improved microfluidic technology for chemical analysis, say its designers…read more
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