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Cascading Molecules Drive IBM's Smallest Computer
Benoit Fries writes "EE Times reports that IBM researchers have created a simple computation engine that's more than 250,000 times smaller than the most advanced silicon circuitry. Called the world's smallest computer, the system relies on a 'molecular cascade' that pushes a handful of carbon monoxide molecules across a copper surface to perform digital logic functions. 'Even if CMOS density follows Moore's Law for 40 more years, molecular cascades are still going to be smaller,' they said."
Imagine a beowulf cluster of those! That would be huge!!
Field Listing - Area - comparative
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This entry provides an area comparison based on total area equivalents. Most entities are compared with the entire US or one of the 50 states based on area measurements (1990 revised) provided by the US Bureau of the Census. The smaller entities are compared with Washington, DC (178 sq km, 69 sq mi) or The Mall in Washington, DC (0.59 sq km, 0.23 sq mi, 146 acres).
Country
Area - comparative
Afghanistan slightly smaller than Texas
Albania slightly smaller than Maryland
Algeria slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Texas
American Samoa slightly larger than Washington, DC
Andorra 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Angola slightly less than twice the size of Texas
Anguilla about half the size of Washington, DC
Antarctica slightly less than 1.5 times the size of the US
Antigua and Barbuda 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Arctic Ocean slightly less than 1.5 times the size of the US
Argentina slightly less than three-tenths the size of the US
Armenia slightly smaller than Maryland
Aruba slightly larger than Washington, DC
Ashmore and Cartier Islands about eight times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Atlantic Ocean slightly less than 6.5 times the size of the US
Australia slightly smaller than the US contiguous 48 states
Austria slightly smaller than Maine
Azerbaijan slightly smaller than Maine
Bahamas, The slightly smaller than Connecticut
Bahrain 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Baker Island about 2.5 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Bangladesh slightly smaller than Iowa
Barbados 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Bassas da India about one-third the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Belarus slightly smaller than Kansas
Belgium about the size of Maryland
Belize slightly smaller than Massachusetts
Benin slightly smaller than Pennsylvania
Bermuda about one-third the size of Washington, DC
Bhutan about half the size of Indiana
Bolivia slightly less than three times the size of Montana
Bosnia and Herzegovina slightly smaller than West Virginia
Botswana slightly smaller than Texas
Bouvet Island about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC
Brazil slightly smaller than the US
British Indian Ocean Territory about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC
British Virgin Islands about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC
Brunei slightly smaller than Delaware
Bulgaria slightly larger than Tennessee
Burkina Faso slightly larger than Colorado
Burma slightly smaller than Texas
Burundi slightly smaller than Maryland
Cambodia slightly smaller than Oklahoma
Cameroon slightly larger than California
Canada slightly larger than the US
Cape Verde slightly larger than Rhode Island
Cayman Islands 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Central African Republic slightly smaller than Texas
Chad slightly more than three times the size of California
Chile slightly smaller than twice the size of Montana
China slightly smaller than the US
Christmas Island about 0.7 times the size of Washington, DC
Clipperton Island about 12 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Cocos (Keeling) Islands about 24 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Colombia slightly less than three times the size of Montana
Comoros slightly more than 12 times the size of Washington, DC
Congo, Democratic Republic of the slightly less than one-fourth the size of the US
Congo, Republic of the slightly smaller than Montana
Cook Islands 1.3 times the size of Washington, DC
Coral Sea Islands NA
Costa Rica slightly smaller than West Virginia
Cote d'Ivoire slightly larger than New Mexico
Croatia slightly smaller than West Virginia
Cuba slightly smaller than Pennsylvania
Cyprus about 0.6 times the size of Connecticut
Czech Republic slightly smaller than South Carolina
Denmark slightly less than twice the size of Massachusetts
Djibouti slightly smaller than Massachusetts
Dominica slightly more than four times the size of Washington, DC
Dominican Republic slightly more than twice the size of New Hampshire
East Timor slightly larger than Connecticut
Ecuador slightly smaller than Nevada
Egypt slightly more than three times the size of New Mexico
El Salvador slightly smaller than Massachusetts
Equatorial Guinea slightly smaller than Maryland
Eritrea slightly larger than Pennsylvania
Estonia slightly smaller than New Hampshire and Vermont combined
Ethiopia slightly less than twice the size of Texas
Europa Island about 0.16 times the size of Washington, DC
Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) slightly smaller than Connecticut
Faroe Islands eight times the size of Washington, DC
Fiji slightly smaller than New Jersey
Finland slightly smaller than Montana
France slightly less than twice the size of Colorado
French Guiana slightly smaller than Indiana
French Polynesia slightly less than one-third the size of Connecticut
French Southern and Antarctic Lands slightly less than 1.3 times the size of Delaware
Gabon slightly smaller than Colorado
Gambia, The slightly less than twice the size of Delaware
Gaza Strip slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC
Georgia slightly smaller than South Carolina
Germany slightly smaller than Montana
Ghana slightly smaller than Oregon
Gibraltar about 11 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Glorioso Islands about eight times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Greece slightly smaller than Alabama
Greenland slightly more than three times the size of Texas
Grenada twice the size of Washington, DC
Guadeloupe 10 times the size of Washington, DC
Guam three times the size of Washington, DC
Guatemala slightly smaller than Tennessee
Guernsey slightly larger than Washington, DC
Guinea slightly smaller than Oregon
Guinea-Bissau slightly less than three times the size of Connecticut
Guyana slightly smaller than Idaho
Haiti slightly smaller than Maryland
Heard Island and McDonald Islands slightly more than two times the size of Washington, DC
Holy See (Vatican City) about 0.7 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Honduras slightly larger than Tennessee
Hong Kong six times the size of Washington, DC
Howland Island about three times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Hungary slightly smaller than Indiana
Iceland slightly smaller than Kentucky
India slightly more than one-third the size of the US
Indian Ocean about 5.5 times the size of the US
Indonesia slightly less than three times the size of Texas
Iran slightly larger than Alaska
Iraq slightly more than twice the size of Idaho
Ireland slightly larger than West Virginia
Israel slightly smaller than New Jersey
Italy slightly larger than Arizona
Jamaica slightly smaller than Connecticut
Jan Mayen slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC
Japan slightly smaller than California
Jarvis Island about eight times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Jersey about 0.7 times the size of Washington, DC
Johnston Atoll about 4.7 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Jordan slightly smaller than Indiana
Juan de Nova Island about seven times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Kazakhstan slightly less than four times the size of Texas
Kenya slightly more than twice the size of Nevada
Kingman Reef about 1.7 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Kiribati four times the size of Washington, DC
Korea, North slightly smaller than Mississippi
Korea, South slightly larger than Indiana
Kuwait slightly smaller than New Jersey
Kyrgyzstan slightly smaller than South Dakota
Laos slightly larger than Utah
Latvia slightly larger than West Virginia
Lebanon about 0.7 times the size of Connecticut
Lesotho slightly smaller than Maryland
Liberia slightly larger than Tennessee
Libya slightly larger than Alaska
Liechtenstein about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC
Lithuania slightly larger than West Virginia
Luxembourg slightly smaller than Rhode Island
Macau about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC
Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of slightly larger than Vermont
Madagascar slightly less than twice the size of Arizona
Malawi slightly smaller than Pennsylvania
Malaysia slightly larger than New Mexico
Maldives about 1.7 times the size of Washington, DC
Mali slightly less than twice the size of Texas
Malta slightly less than twice the size of Washington, DC
Man, Isle of slightly more than three times the size of Washington, DC
Marshall Islands about the size of Washington, DC
Martinique slightly more than six times the size of Washington, DC
Mauritania slightly larger than three times the size of New Mexico
Mauritius almost 11 times the size of Washington, DC
Mayotte slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC
Mexico slightly less than three times the size of Texas
Micronesia, Federated States of four times the size of Washington, DC
Midway Islands about nine times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Moldova slightly larger than Maryland
Monaco about three times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Mongolia slightly smaller than Alaska
Montserrat about 0.6 times the size of Washington, DC
Morocco slightly larger than California
Mozambique slightly less than twice the size of California
Namibia slightly more than half the size of Alaska
Nauru about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC
Navassa Island about nine times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Nepal slightly larger than Arkansas
Netherlands slightly less than twice the size of New Jersey
Netherlands Antilles more than five times the size of Washington, DC
New Caledonia slightly smaller than New Jersey
New Zealand about the size of Colorado
Nicaragua slightly smaller than the state of New York
Niger slightly less than twice the size of Texas
Nigeria slightly more than twice the size of California
Niue 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Norfolk Island about 0.2 times the size of Washington, DC
Northern Mariana Islands 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Norway slightly larger than New Mexico
Oman slightly smaller than Kansas
Pacific Ocean about 15 times the size of the US; covers about 28% of the global surface; larger than the total land area of the world
Pakistan slightly less than twice the size of California
Palau slightly more than 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Palmyra Atoll about 20 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Panama slightly smaller than South Carolina
Papua New Guinea slightly larger than California
Paracel Islands NA
Paraguay slightly smaller than California
Peru slightly smaller than Alaska
Philippines slightly larger than Arizona
Pitcairn Islands about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC
Poland slightly smaller than New Mexico
Portugal slightly smaller than Indiana
Puerto Rico slightly less than three times the size of Rhode Island
Qatar slightly smaller than Connecticut
Reunion slightly smaller than Rhode Island
Romania slightly smaller than Oregon
Russia slightly less than 1.8 times the size of the US
Rwanda slightly smaller than Maryland
Saint Helena slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC
Saint Kitts and Nevis 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Saint Lucia 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Saint Pierre and Miquelon 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines twice the size of Washington, DC
Samoa slightly smaller than Rhode Island
San Marino about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC
Sao Tome and Principe more than five times the size of Washington, DC
Saudi Arabia slightly more than one-fifth the size of the US
Senegal slightly smaller than South Dakota
Seychelles 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Sierra Leone slightly smaller than South Carolina
Singapore slightly more than 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Slovakia about twice the size of New Hampshire
Slovenia slightly smaller than New Jersey
Solomon Islands slightly smaller than Maryland
Somalia slightly smaller than Texas
South Africa slightly less than twice the size of Texas
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands slightly larger than Rhode Island
Southern Ocean slightly more than twice the size of the US
Spain slightly more than twice the size of Oregon
Spratly Islands NA
Sri Lanka slightly larger than West Virginia
Sudan slightly more than one-quarter the size of the US
Suriname slightly larger than Georgia
Svalbard slightly smaller than West Virginia
Swaziland slightly smaller than New Jersey
Sweden slightly larger than California
Switzerland slightly less than twice the size of New Jersey
Syria slightly larger than North Dakota
Taiwan slightly smaller than Maryland and Delaware combined
Tajikistan slightly smaller than Wisconsin
Tanzania slightly larger than twice the size of California
Thailand slightly more than twice the size of Wyoming
Togo slightly smaller than West Virginia
Tokelau about 17 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Tonga four times the size of Washington, DC
Trinidad and Tobago slightly smaller than Delaware
Tromelin Island about 1.7 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Tunisia slightly larger than Georgia
Turkey slightly larger than Texas
Turkmenistan slightly larger than California
Turks and Caicos Islands 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Tuvalu 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC
Uganda slightly smaller than Oregon
Ukraine slightly smaller than Texas
United Arab Emirates slightly smaller than Maine
United Kingdom slightly smaller than Oregon
United States about half the size of Russia; about three-tenths the size of Africa; about half the size of South America (or slightly larger than Brazil); slightly larger than China; about two and a half times the size of Western Europe
Uruguay slightly smaller than the state of Washington
Uzbekistan slightly larger than California
Vanuatu slightly larger than Connecticut
Venezuela slightly more than twice the size of California
Vietnam slightly larger than New Mexico
Virgin Islands twice the size of Washington, DC
Wake Island about 11 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Wallis and Futuna 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC
West Bank slightly smaller than Delaware
Western Sahara about the size of Colorado
World land area about 16 times the size of the US
Yemen slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming
Yugoslavia slightly smaller than Kentucky
Zambia slightly larger than Texas
Zimbabwe slightly larger than Montana
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002