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Magnetic Computing Takes a Step Forward
MaceyHW writes "PhysOrg.com reports a big step forward in the development of magnetic microchips. Since their initial creation of a magnetic logic gate in 2002, an international team of researchers from Durham University, Imperial College, London and the University of Sheffield 'team has created a number of further "logic gates" and created interconnecting structures using magnetic "nanowires," which can now reproduce the logic functions of a conventional computer.'"
..when we've already got a laptop powered by a 6,8 GHz quantum optical processor with 1 TB of NvlOpRAM?
Does this mean we'll eventually have computers we can stick to the fridge?
Civilization, the death of dreams.
I didn't see anything in the article about clocking speeds (if, indeed this type of technology is clocked - I guess so?) - any ideas?
I'll have to find that old bubble core magnetic memory I stuck up in the attic some years ago - it might come in useful!
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Scientist at the Cave of Ogg have discovered that wood may be able to be used a source of fire. Following hot on the heels of their previous breakthroughs with the ignition of fire, Ogg and Gor have discovered that fire is held in a solid state in certain types of wood. By transferring an existing fire to a piece of wood is said to "unlock" the fire within the wood and set it ablaze. Ogg's spokesman said that study will continue to find the exact amount of fire held within the various types of wood available near the Cave.
Seriously? Magnets?
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The article sort of mumbled through why I should care. Does anyone know? Do these logic gates offer the promise of smaller, faster, cheaper, or lower-power CPUs? Some combination of the above? Do they allow the creation of computers of a type not practical before? Where's the beef?
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It would be nice if we had magnetic disks. North or South corresponds to 0 or 1.
"This would also imply that the computers being economical would become still more disposable. 'This means that they could be used for cheap and therefore disposable simple computers in the future.'"
Why is this a feature? We've already shown ourselves how wonderful "displosable" technology really is. Why do we think we need more useless broken garbage? How reclaimable is it? Can we just throw a bunch of these into a pot, separate the various metals and cook up new ones when the technology improves? Disposable != Economical. You have to have an economy before you can throw it in the garbage.
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... is the picture !
Hello Core Memory...
Seriously core memory was magnetic and was first thing I thought of when I read the headline.
Warning: Do not place any creditcards on top or close of this device. The card might get damaged!
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I'm guessing one of those computers won't have floppy drives.
2. It seems like magneticism is somewhat harder to contain than electricity, even though they're the same thing. What I mean is that we heard about leakage in processors as we get smaller and smaller dies. How is interference from other units controlled/mitigated in these chips?
I am definitely NOT a physicists so these question might sound lame but this is the first time I've heard of these chips and the article don't say much. Maybe I'm getting way ahead right now. New computational technology is always very cool, which I hope these chips are in the literal sense as well.
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I have, erm, sources connected to this story.
Basically, don't expect miracles. The signals can travel incredibly fast through these devices (can't remember exact figures) but there are problems. The signals are driven by an external magnetic field. Single magnetic pulse can drive high speed data transmission, but not normally operation of the circuit. Continuous operation would likely be in the 10s of kHZ to 1s of MHz range.
The main uses are in low power, low demand devices. Or in systems which need to be resistant to EM radiation (certain military interest there).
Similarities to core memory? Basically that's MRAM. And chips of MRAM up to about several hundred kb can now be mass produced.
But as for "they have made a computer" - we're not talking Pentiums. We're talking about having demonstrated the functions which compose such chips - NOT, AND, OR and signal combination and splitting. Nothing more.
I guess that's why the article suggests applications in "disposable" computing. I don't really have a problem with this - it's much the same as saying paper is easily destroyed by a glass of water or red wine. You just know to keep things in the right environment.
Yes, it was rather vague. A quick search with google turned up a more detailed report on their earlier work:( I used "bug me not" to login to read it
Just to give the flavour of this report, it states...
Much of the funding has come from Eastgate, a Venture Capital firm based in Dubai. I think the IP rights are shared between them and the university, but Eastgate won't develop the idea. Rather, they'll look for people who are willing to.
Or the kind that doesn't require power to hold the processor in one state but only power when its changing states.
Bringing us ever closer to a world full of disposable junk!
If you want a vision of the future, imagine a youtube comments section scrolling - forever.
The method referenced is called "magnetic domain-wall logic". It works by propagating domain walls in small ferromagnetic wires. They have demonstrated various logic elements. Unfortunately, the domain-wall propagation is powered by immersing the circuit into a rotating or alternating magnetic field. This requires bulky external coils, rotating the IC itself inside a permanent magnet, or rotating a permanent magnet around the IC.
In the demonstrations, field frequency is measured in the tens of Hertz. I could not find a reference to the propagation velocity, but one wire width per cycle would be a reasonable guess. In short, horribly slow.
This technology seems to me to open as many unique exciting possibilities as when semiconductor technology first emerged. First of all, if you actually RTFA, these microchips generate no heat, which also suggests that they are very low power. Remember, not every microchip in the world today is your over clocked dual core Athlon 64, but rather are useful things like stepper motor controllers and what not. The fact is, this may allow an alternative method to make some of the thousands of silicon based components used in devices today cheaper or more efficient for use. Any new approach is always good for the technological community assuming it even has the potential for any benefits.
Also, I fail to see where the susceptibility of such devices to external magnetic fields would be any more exaggerated than those of devices employing electrical circuits, and dare I say that these devices may not be susceptible to "unacceptable" issues with silicon devices like ESD? Try waving a magnet over some parts of your motherboard or power supply when its in use at close range, but do so at your own risk.
This comment is as useless as the article. It gives nothing of true relevance. Kinda reminds me of that character in Monkey Island who wanted "something that will atract attention, but have no real importance".
Now to be in the real spirit of Slashdot, mod me insightfull.