Brain-Inspired Computer Made From Duroquinone

hasu notes that scientists at the National Institute for Materials Science at Tsukuba in Japan have created a device, consisting of 17 duroquinone molecules on a gold surface, that can in theory encode 4.3 billion outcomes. The "device" does not constitute a practical computer, since it requires both a scanning tunneling microscope and operation near absolute zero. A single duroquinone is surrounded by sixteen others, and weak chemical bonds allow a pulse to the central molecule to shift all seventeen molecules in a variety of ways. Each duroquinone has four different "settings," so a single pulse can have 4^16 possible outcomes. As a demonstration the researchers docked 8 other nano-devices to their 17-molecule computer. It is unclear how well they have characterized the inputs that result in 4.3 billion different outputs. They are working on a 3D design that would have 1,024 duroquinone molecules surrounding a central one.

Comments

But...

[BrunoBigfoot]

will it run Linux?

Re:Elaboration Please

[jtev]

Well, Absolute Zero is a temperature that has been extrapolated from the ideal gas law. It is the temperature at which all kinetic energy in the molecules of a substance reaches 0. For more information on Absolute Zero, and teperature scales based on it take a look at this wikipedia page and please do not expect the rest of us to do you thinking for you in the future.

Re:Elaboration Please

[stuporglue]

It will only work when run in a super cold freezer or, possibly, in Canada.

Really cold : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolute_zero

Nano

[Dr. Eggman]

Nanotechnology? That's so early 2000's, we're onto picotechnology now!

Seriously, though, this is incredibly small! The molecular computation machiniery necessary to direct our nanomachines are going to be far more interesting, challenging, and incredible than the nanomachines themselves.

Video and model

[whitehatlurker]

This is a bit more graphical than TFA: http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/03/10/748041.aspx

State of the art??!??

[EmbeddedJanitor]

I thought the state of the art way to make brains involved copulaton.

Re:So it can store an integer up to 4.3 billion?

[MozeeToby]

This is their wimpy 16 part prototype. Eventually, they hope to control 1024 parts, allowing them to store 4^1024 bits of data with a single pulse... in a single molecule.

Re:So it can store an integer Expressive...

[davidsyes]

It's EXpressive: Mathematical AND artistic.

But, if they use it in bugs, and they abandon their masters, it will give a new meaning to "buggin out". If they emerge from a wig-wearing woman, then we literally have "wiggin out".

But, as for expressionism.... do you want IMpressionism?

Wow, 4.3 billion states?

[Kaz Kylheku]

That's like, 2^32.

Is this really a computer? Or 32 bits worth of really impractical memory? :)

Re:Wow, 4.3 billion states?

[Toonol]

Exactly right. Each of the sixteen molecules plays the role of two bits. They've made four bytes of ram.

It's good that they're researching this; maybe someday it'll lead to faster, more compact storage. But when they release statements about how they can store "4.3 billion different states", they seem to be trying to market themselves. You can do the same with 32 pennies.

Re:Wow, 4.3 billion states?

[JLF65]

:)

You noticed that as well. I replied as much to a post above. Scientists have ways of making their "discoveries" seem much more impressive than they really are. It helps keep the grant money coming in. After all, which sounds more impressive?

"I've made a 32 bit register that requires a room-size microscope and refrigerator to operate."

"I've made a molecular 'brain' that holds over FOUR BILLION states!"

Re:So it can store an integer up to 4.3 billion?

[JLF65]

You got confused by the article. It's not 4.3 billion states, it's ONE out of 4.3 billion states. In other words, it's equivalent to about 32 bits of storage, or log2(4^16). Similarly, the 1024 molecule structure will not hold the equivalent of 4^1024 bits, but only log2(4^1024) bits.

Some kind of robot or battlesuit, right?

[spun]

I thought the state of the art way to make brains involved copulaton. Ah, Copulaton, my favorite Autobot. Or was it a Gundam?

Well...

[jd]

The world's first stored-program computer only stored 32 words, where one word was 40 bits in length, making this 1/40th of the capacity of Alan Turing's "Baby" (aka Manchester Mk. 1) computer. Seriously, though, this is impressive in the sense that they got the thing to work at all. Storing and recovering data from a device this small is non-trivial, especially if they've got the read to be non-destructive. At this scale, the impact of carrying out the observation is non-trivial. If they need to cool to near absolute zero, it's obviously delicate enough that they need to damp down everything to keep the system working. But precisely because almost anything can be kept constant at that temperature, I'd consider this "cheating" a little. You could probably store and recover data on almost any sufficiently uniform structure if nothing is moving.