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Transistor Made From Bose-Einstein Condensate

Posted by kdawson on from the cold-circuitry dept.

holy_calamity writes "US researchers have made a transistor from a Bose-Einstein condensate. They claim it to be the first step towards 'atomic circuits' that run with atoms instead of electrons. 'A small number of atoms can be used to control the flow of a large number of atoms, in much the same way that an FET uses a gate voltage to control a large electric current,' says lead research Alex Zozulya. The abstract of their paper is freely available."

3 of 80 comments (clear)

  1. Wouldn't this be slower? by haluness · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Given that electrons are so much smaller (and hence faster) than atoms, wouldn't this lead to slow circuits? What is the advantage of use atoms in place of electrons?

  2. Bose Einstein? by gEvil+(beta) · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Bose Einstein? I bet that's one mighty expensive (and vastly underperforming) transistor radio...

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    This guy's the limit!
  3. How could this be practical? by maynard · · Score: 3, Insightful

    To form a Bose Einstein Condensate, the atoms must be cooled to a fraction of 0 degrees Kelvin. How could this ever be used in a practical application?